(Washington, DC) – The Treasury Department announced the District of Columbia will receive up to $33.7 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to spur the continued development of affordable housing units.
“This new stimulus funding will have an immediate and critical impact on the development and rehabilitation of affordable housing in the District of Columbia,” said Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. “It will help us move forward with affordable housing projects, and it will generate much needed jobs for District residents.”
Under Section 1602 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009, housing credit agencies, such as the District’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), are eligible to receive grants in lieu of low-income housing credits under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) for 2009. In doing so, the District is electing to take a portion of its 2009 housing credit ceiling in the form of grant amounts, and agreeing to the terms and conditions applicable to the Section 1602 program.
DHCD submitted the application to the Treasury Department on June 9, 2009. In advancement of its mission to create and preserve opportunities for affordable housing and economic development in the nation’s capital city, DHCD will direct the Section 1602 grant funds to finance construction or acquisition and rehabilitation of qualified low-income building for low-income housing in lieu of low-income housing tax credits.
“I am extremely proud of the DHCD team’s quick turnaround on this application, as funds like these are especially necessary in this difficult financing market,” said DHCD Director Leila Finucane Edmonds.
Working to maximize ARRA funding, DHCD issued a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) in April for projects focused on elderly housing; special needs housing; housing for chronically homeless individuals and families in mixed-income buildings with supportive services; preservation of housing affected by expiring federal subsidies; new/substantial rehabilitation of housing; and new construction and preservation of affordable housing units. The application deadline was June 1. DHCD will review all qualified applications and will announce the selection of projects at a later date.