Next year, Vermont will gain eight qualified census tracts for the purposes of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.   Buildings located in qualified census tracts receive increased funding through the housing credit program because the “eligible basis” can be increased by 130 percent. 

Qualified census tracts have at least 50 percent of households with incomes less than 60 percent of the area median income or have poverty rates of at least 25 percent. 

HUD is making the new designations on the basis of new data from the 2010 Decennial Census and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey.  

Read more on HUD's web site.

The ECOS (Environment. Community. Opportunity. Sustainability) project has moved into the next phase of its work – prioritizing actions to achieve common goals.   Come meet with others interested in the impact of housing on Chittenden County’s sustainability to identify criteria for prioritizing future action. 

Neighborworks of Western Vermont was awarded $25,000 to provide counseling to families and individuals facing the threat of foreclosure. NeighborWorks America announced the awards in late March as a part of its $73.8 million National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program.

Housing Matters just learned that VHFA received Vermont's 2012 Worksite Wellness Award. The award comes from the Vermont Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

The award "acknowledges employers who are experiencing rapid growth and interest in the area of health promotion...[and] demonstrate an understanding of health management planning principals.