The Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) Board of Commissioners announced last week the award of state and federal housing tax credits and loans to support the development, rehabilitation or preservation of 338 permanently affordable apartments in eleven communities across the state.
“Our state is currently facing many challenges in development but also many new opportunities to fund affordable housing,” 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.”
VHFA previously awarded federal allocated or Ceiling tax credits in May. The latest funding round includes federal Bond credits and Vermont Affordable Housing Tax Credits, which will be sold to investors to raise an estimated $29.8 million in equity for construction. VHFA also awarded $46.8 million in construction loans and $4.2 million in long-term loans to the projects.
VHFA also awarded $1,505,000 in loans from its Vermont Housing Investment Fund (VHIF) to four projects. The fund was established in 2020 to provide more flexible financing opportunities for affordable housing development. VHFA announced last week that the fund received a $4 million award from the U.S. Treasury that will nearly double the future impact of the fund.
The VHIF is instrumental in helping Vermont more effectively leverage state and federal bond credits. While the 9% or ceiling credits are capped for each state, the federal bond credits are effectively unlimited. However, these bond credits cover a smaller amount of projects’ total costs than the ceiling credits and have often been under-used in Vermont due to gaps in project budgets. Bringing together VHIF as well as federal ARPA pandemic relief funds awarded by the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) has allowed VHFA to support more projects than ever before.
A full list of the award projects is below:
| Project Name | Town | Developer | VHFA funding | Apartments developed or rehabilitated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Addison County Supportive Housing | Vergennes, Bristol, Middlebury | John Graham Housing and Services & Addison County Community Trust | Federal tax credits, state tax credits, VHFA construction loan | 18 |
| Bay Ridge | Shelburne | Champlain Housing Trust & Evernorth | Federal tax credits, state tax credits, VHFA construction loan, VHIF loan | 68 |
| Granite City | Barre | Downstreet Housing and Community Development & Evernorth | VHIF loan | 27 |
| Little Creek | Vergennes | Addison County Community Trust & Evernorth | State tax credits | 55 |
| O’Brien Farms | South Burlington | Summit Properties | Federal tax credits, state tax credits, VHFA construction loan, VHFA permanent loan, VHIF loan | 47 |
| Salisbury Square Phase II | Randolph | Randolph Area Community Development Corporation | Federal tax credits, state tax credits, VHFA construction loan, VHFA permanent loan, VHIF loan | 12 |
| Mellishwood | Woodstock | Twin Pines Housing Trust | VHFA acquisition loan | 26 |
| Taft’s Flat | Hartford | Twin Pines Housing Trust | Federal tax credits, VHFA construction loan | 18 |
| White River Junction Hotel Conversion | Hartford | Twin Pines Housing Trust | Federal tax credits, VHFA construction loan | 40 |
| East Calais General Store | East Calais | East Calais Community Trust | VHIF loan | 3 |
| Kelley’s Field II | Hinesburg | Cathedral Square Corporation & Evernorth | Federal tax credits, VHFA construction loan, VHFA permanent loan | 24 |
The projects include 102 apartments for households experiencing or at risk of homelessness. This is in addition to 28 apartments in projects awarded in May. This comes as Vermont recorded a 7.3% increase in persons experiencing homelessness in Vermont this year, likely due to continued pandemic-related challenges and an extremely tight rental market. These eleven projects will help provide safe, permanently affordable homes paired with supportive services to help households transition out of homelessness.
In addition to the housing credits and loans awarded by VHFA, other funding sources for the new projects include grants and loans from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, the Vermont Community Development Program, the federal HOME program, the National Housing Trust Fund, NeighborWorks, Northern Borders, and the Upper Valley Workforce Housing Loan Fund.
Pictured: Rendering of Bay Ridge in Shelburne. The project will include both new buildings and rehabilitation of existing motel buildings on site. Courtesy of Champlain Housing Trust & Evernorth