Last week, the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) Board of Commissioners awarded Vermont State Affordable Housing Tax Credits for homeownership development projects across the state. Once sold to investors, the credits will yield nearly $3 million in equity for downpayment assistance for newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated single-family homes as well as energy-efficient manufactured homes. Additionally, Commissioners awarded more than $8.5 million as part of the Missing Middle-Income Homeownership Development Program, which will create 180 homes across the state. Combined, these investments will support the construction or substantial rehabilitation of at least 254 homes.
Development
Vermont Treasurer's Office makes historic investment in home building
On Wednesday, Governor Phil Scott and Treasurer Mike Pieciak announced a $55.5 million investment in housing, as part of the “10% in Vermont” local investment program.
VHFA will administer $50 million of these funds to construct or rehabilitate an estimated 1,000 homes over the next 2-3 years. The program will support the construction or rehabilitation of traditional affordable housing, market rate apartments, homeownership as well as housing for individuals experiencing homelessness. Additionally, reserves will be made available for households and housing impacted by this summer’s flooding.
Help build the Vermont Zoning Atlas
The Vermont Zoning Atlas team is seeking volunteers to help complete its build-out across the state. This is an exciting opportunity to join a national data standardization project, be part of a grassroots team and be among the first researchers to work with raw zoning data across Vermont. The project started this summer by focusing on Chittenden County towns.
VHFA awards housing credits and loans for 139 perpetually affordable homes
The Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) Board of Commissioners announced Monday the award of state and federal housing tax credits and loans to support the construction, rehabilitation or preservation of 139 permanently affordable apartments in four communities across the state.
“Our state continues to see numerous challenges in the construction and rehabilitation of housing combined with increasing rates of homelessness,” remarked VHFA Executive Director Maura Collins. “The Vermont development community and housing funders have joined together to make these projects possible and get more Vermonters into safe, decent and affordable homes, including those exiting homelessness.”
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Vermonters need better housing options and more affordable homes. Meeting that need requires changing the ways homes are built in Vermont, especially the location and types of new homes. "Missing middle" homes (MMH), like accessory dwelling units, duplexes, and small-scale multi-household buildings were once common but have been increasingly limited by zoning and other regulations. MMH is a solution to providing a diverse mix of housing options for homeowners and renters that creates more walkable and vital neighborhoods.
VHFA releases 2023 VHIF Annual Report
Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) has released its second annual report for the Vermont Housing Investment Fund (VHIF). VHFA established the fund in 2020 in recognition of a growing need for more flexible financing opportunities for affordable housing development. VHIF investments are intended to fill gaps in project budgets, allowing worthwhile housing projects to move forward despite complex and changing development conditions.
Manufactured home communities: The environmental justice challenge no one is talking about
The past few years have witnessed a societal reckoning with income, class, and racial disparities, particularly as they relate to health and well-being. A number of multisector collaborations with a focus on environmental justice and social determinants of health have sprouted up and are leveraging advocacy, philanthropy, and governmental policy to address these intersectional issues.
HUD program offers $837 million in grants for multifamily retrofits
A new program offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will offer $837.5 million in grants as well as $4 billion in loan authority to help property owners to carry out energy efficient retrofits of HUD-assisted multifamily affordable housing. The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) is part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed by Congress last August.
Missing Middle-Income Development Program Reopens
The Missing Middle-Income Homeownership Development Program (Missing Middle) recently received an additional $9 million through the Fiscal Year 2023 State Budget Adjustment Act. This funding is available to both applicants who previously submitted applications earlier this year as well as new applicants to the program. All developers and builders who have projects which would be affordable under the parameters of the Missing Middle program are encouraged to apply, especially for projects in geographic areas of Vermont that were not previously awarded program funds.
VHFA provides $28 million through federal housing credits to build perpetually-affordable apartments across Vermont
The Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) Board of Commissioners announced last week that its annual award of federal housing tax credits will support the construction of 112 homes in perpetually affordable apartment buildings in four communities across the state. The sale of this year’s tax credits to investors is expected to yield over $28 million in funds covering an estimated 60 percent of total project development costs.
These housing construction projects will take place in a uniquely challenging environment. Elevated development costs, interest rates and housing needs among Vermonters heavily influenced project planning. The cost of developing a unit of rental housing in Vermont has increased 36% since 2018.