NY Is First State to Use Economy Recovery Funds to Jump-Start Affordable Housing Projects

New York State Governor David Paterson announced the first nine projects that will receive financing as part of $253 million in affordable housing grants that are coming to the state through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). These housing projects are the first in the U.S. to be awarded funding through the ARRA, and will allow for the preservation of existing affordable multifamily housing as well the construction of new units.

The ARRA included $2.25 billion for the Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP), which will help state housing agencies kick-start the production of stalled projects that rely on low-income tax credits. New York’s share will be $253 million and will be administered by the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). Two of the DHCR projects already received low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) from the agency in June 2008. Although the tax credits have traditionally been the most effective and reliable source of equity for the developers of affordable housing, the financial downturn has had a devastating effect on their value, creating funding gaps that stalled projects throughout the state.

New York State Housing Finance Agency’s Priscilla Almodovar said that: “Quickly deploying these stimulus funds means that we can move needed major capital improvements to more of the state’s Mitchell Lama projects.”

Among the projects to be funded are the Van Rensselaer Village in Watervliet, Albany County and Clinton Park Senior Apartments in Saratoga County, which will both be removed from the DHCR waitlist. Van Rensselaer Village will receive $1.3 million in new LIHTC allocation and $2.4 million in TCAP funds, while Clinton Park will receive $956,000 in new LIHTC allocation and $2.4 million in TCAP funds.