VHFA, the New Northgate Housing, LLC, and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) came together yesterday to sign the legal documents firming up a new and improved financing structure for the Burlington apartment complex.
Development
New rental apartment complex opens in Essex
Senator Bernie Sanders joined the Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) and Housing Vermont yesterday to celebrate the completion of thirty apartments in a single building located off Susie Wilson Road in the Town of Essex. Cedar’s Edge Apartments offers a mix of 24 two-bedroom and six one-bedroom apartments.
Senator Bernie Sanders noted that “at a time when many Vermonters are struggling economically, when affordable housing is very hard to come by in many Chittenden County towns, and when many families are spending fifty percent or more of their limited income on housing, this project is sorely needed."
Historic West Rutland buildings converted to energy efficient apartments
Senator Bernie Sanders was in West Rutland Friday to celebrate the conversion of two historic buildings-- Stanislaus School and a former convent that had been unoccupied for years--into affordable, energy efficient housing.
Not only were historic buildings that already contained four apartments preserved, but 17 new affordable apartments were created with innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy design features. The Housing Trust of Rutland County, led by Elisabeth Kulas pictured here with Sanders, developed the project.
Hickory Street apartments ready in Rutland
The first phase of renovations at the Forest Park apartment complex in Rutland are complete. Residents began moving into the 33 mixed-income apartments on Hickory Street on Thursday.
Vermont Housing Finance Agency provided federal low-income housing tax credits for the project. A variety of other funding sources included the federal public housing program and HOME program.
Read more in coverage by the Rutland Herald and WCAX.
QAP public hearing coming Jan. 19
VHFA is conducting its annual review of the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for Tax Credits, and will hold a public hearing for feedback next Wednesday.
The QAP determines how VHFA allocates Vermont's Housing Tax Credits. We estimate we'll have $2.63 million in 2011-12 credits to allocate.
Next week's public hearing is a meeting of the Joint Committee on Tax Credits, which is responsible for making recommendations to the VHFA Board of Commissioners on changes to the QAP. It'll be held at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 19 at VHFA, 164 Saint Paul St., Burlington.
VHFA expects its Board of Commissioners will act on the Committee's recommendation at the Board's Feb. 7 meeting. Allocations made after the Board's adoption will be made under criteria of the newly-revised QAP.
Canal Street Veterans Housing nearly ready
Canal Street Veterans Housing, a new $5.6 million building that will provide 16 units of transitional housing for veterans in Winooski, is nearing completion.
Becky Holt, Director of Development & Communications for the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS), says people will likely start moving in in January.
Housing Vermont developed the project with COTS. VHFA allocated $384,300 in federal Housing Credits.
HUD commits $200,000 to Randolph housing
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (right) announced a $200,000 commitment in U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Economic Development Initiative (EDI) funds for Salisbury Square in Randolph.
Sen. Leahy was joined yesterday by Chuck Lief (left) of The Hartland Group and Marty Strange, Chair of the Board of Randolph Area Community Development Corp., sponsor of the project.
Treasury awards $2.5 million to support Brattleboro housing
Yesterday, VHFA was awarded nearly $2.5 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury in exchange for $289,500 of Housing Credit the Agency had awarded to the Upper Story development in Brattleboro.
Developers will use the funding to help create 24 residential rental units over the newly-expanded Food Coop in downtown Brattleboro.
The project closes this month, and construction will begin shortly after. Project sponsors are Windham Housing Trust and Housing Vermont.
Proctor Place restored; affordability extended
Proctor Place, a 12-unit elderly housing development in Rutland County's Town of Proctor, is the first to use funds from VHFA's new pre-development loan program, funded by the MacArthur Foundation. (See our Mar. 31 post, "VHFA makes available MacArthur funds.")
A total of $236,000 from the program is helping restore the historic Main Street building following a fire last August. Work is nearly complete.
VHFA makes available MacArthur funds
VHFA's Development Department has launched new loan programs made possible by the MacArthur Foundation.
Our new pre-development loan program serves preservation projects. Participants are required to make monthly interest payments, with principal due at construction closing.
Also new are equity bridge loans and energy/capital improvement loans. Both are short-term loans — up to three years — designed to facilitate preservation transactions. Interest is payable monthly; principal due on maturity.