Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) is seeking feedback and comments on the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) that guides the agency in making housing tax credit allocation decisions. The agency is opening the comment and feedback period effective April 23, 2019 and will close the period on Friday, May 24. The current version of the QAP is available on VHFA’s website.

The annual Burlington Young Professionals (BYP) survey conducted by the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce reveals that 33 percent of young adults surveyed plan to move out of the area within the next four years. Among the most common challenges cited were the high cost of living, lack of job growth opportunities, and a lack of affordable housing.

The Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of Boston has announced its training schedule and application deadlines for the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) for 2019. The program awards approximately $20.7 million in grants and low-interest loans through member institutions to organizations promoting homeownership and rental housing opportunities for low income households.

Among the recent projects that have received funding through this program are Lake Paran, an affordable rental housing development in Shaftsbury, Vermont that will break ground in the coming months. 

The Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) Board of Commissioners announced yesterday that its annual allocation of federal and state housing tax credits will support the development of 214 permanently affordable apartments in nine communities across the state. Low and moderate income Vermont renters will benefit from a 12.5 percent increase in Vermont’s annual allocation enacted by Congress last year.

Housing tax credits are the single largest source of funding for the development of affordable rental housing in Vermont. VHFA awarded the developers of the eight projects state and federal tax credits that are expected to yield an estimated $41 million in total upfront equity for development costs.