DES MOINES, Iowa—The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors has awarded a total of nearly $10 million in federal housing tax credits to support the construction of a total of 385 affordable rental homes for Iowans. The awards were made to 11 rental housing projects located in Adel, Audubon, Bondurant, Boone, Carroll, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Grinnell, Hiawatha, Ottumwa and Winterset.
The same developer was successful with their application for both Audubon and Boone. MCC Development of Iowa, LLC is already moving ahead with affordable housing in the first half of their Boone project located on the northwest corner of the intersection of “P” Avenue and 22nd Street. That project received tax credits last September for the Villas at Fox Pointe Boone. Ground breaking for that project is expected yet this month. The tax credits awarded this time are for the senior housing project planned at the same location which would be a 30 unit apartment project. Last year, a second project did receive a tax credit award for Boone. The Overland Property Group proposed the Reserves at Hawkeye, but that project did not proceed when the City Council denied a request to rezone the site for multi-family residential development. On a side note, the Overland property Group did secure more than $1-million in tax credits for a project in Carrol.
“Housing is foundational to the economic mobility of Iowans and the strength of our communities,” said Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Debi Durham. “The tax credit awards will provide hundreds of Iowa families and seniors with homes in which they can thrive in urban and rural communities all throughout the state.”
“The addition of the 35 rental homes to be constructed at the Villas at Fox Pointe Audubon will provide dozens of families with an affordable place to call home right here within our community,” said City of Audubon Mayor Barb Jacobsen. “This investment in Audubon will spur many economic ripple effects as more of our workforce will be able to live near where they work.”
The Internal Revenue Service makes an annual per capita allocation of federal tax credits to each state for the Federal Housing Tax Credit program. The Iowa Finance Authority is charged with allocating those credits to affordable housing developers. The developers who receive tax credits sell them to investors to generate equity for the housing developments.
The Iowa Finance Authority received 24 applications requesting more than $20 million in housing tax credits in the 2022 tax credit round. IFA had a total of approximately $10 million available to allocate.
The actual awards total nearly $100 million because the credits are committed annually for a 10-year period.
(contributed press release, Iowa Finance Authority)
