HUD Awards More Than $1 Billion in ARRA Funds to Jump-Start Housing Construction in 26 States

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that HUD is approving plans submitted by state finance agencies for $1,035,322,485 to jump-start affordable housing programs in states throughout the country that have been stalled due to the recession. Funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), HUD's Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP) will allow 26 state housing finance agencies to resume funding of affordable rental housing projects. The current economic and financial crises have presented significant challenges for the construction industry, particularly residential construction. One of the byproducts of this crisis has been the freezing of investments in the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) market. The tax credits create an incentive for investors to provide capital to developers to build multifamily rental housing for moderate- and low-income families. Since the contraction of the credit market, and as traditional investors remain on the sidelines, the value of tax credits has plummeted. Consequently, as many as 1,000 projects, containing nearly 150,000 units of housing, have been on hold across the country. In response, ARRA provides $2.25 billion for TCAP, a grant program to provide capital investments in these stalled LIHTC developments. Under the first round of TCAP funds, state housing finance agencies in the states below are receiving awards now:

• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Nebraska
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Puerto Rico
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Vermont
• Washington
• Wisconsin

The remaining 26 grants will follow in the coming weeks.