THE BUZZ >>NEWS
Housing Comes with
24-Hour Child Care
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE • April 2008
JUBILEE HOUSING is renovating one of its
longtime housing developments with one
unique addition: a 24-hour child-care
center.
The facility will serve 46 children in
full-day educational activities and offer
night and weekend care to help parents
who work evening shifts. The center is
part of the $9 million Ontario Court
development in Washington, D.C., that
features the rehabilitation of 27 affordable
apartments.
“There are second- and third-shift
workers, and child care after hours is even
tougher than regular hours,” said Jim
Knight, executive director of Jubilee
Housing.
Several factors led to the decision to
create the center. Staff members knew
anecdotally that child care was needed
during different hours. Child care also
scored high when residents were asked to
vote on different services, and Jubilee
JumpStart, a sister organization to the
nonprofit housing provider, wanted to do
such a program, Knight said.
The development is financed with
the help of New Markets Tax Credits
(NMTCs), a federal program that aims to
bring private investment into lowincome
communities. The tax credits are
coming from Enterprise, a leading
NMTC allocatee. The credits are helping
leverage financing for the project, including
a $2.8 million NMTC-enhanced
investment from PNC New Markets
Investment Partners. Ontario Court is
Enterprise’s first NMTC investment in
Washington, D.C. PNC Bank and the
District of Columbia Department of
Housing and Community Development
are also involved.
Ontario Court is expected to be completed
in the fall.
HFAs Hold Steady in Rough Market
DESPITE BIG TROUBLES in the residential
real estate market, municipal housing
bond issuance will be strong in
2008, said Standard & Poor's Rating
Services.
Demand for housing finance agency
(HFA) single-family loan products has
been strong from borrowers and could
become even more attractive, said the
report.
S&P noted that growth could accelerate
if HFAs are given the ability to
issue tax-exempt debt to provide refinancing
to homeowners in danger for
foreclosure.
According to S&P, 94 percent of
HFA issues are rated "AA" or better, and
97 percent of local agency issues are
rated "AA" or better. In 2007, local bond
issuance totaled $6.6 billion, while HFA
issuance totaled $24.1 billion.
Saving Affordable Units Near Transportation
ABOUT 100,000 federally assisted housing
units are located within a half-mile of rail
stations in eight cities, according to a new
study by the National Housing Trust and
Reconnection America. These units are
home to more than 300,000 individuals.
What's troubling is that a majority of
these units, 63 percent, have rental-assistance
contracts expiring in the next five
years. The cities covered in the report are
Boston; Chicago; Cleveland; Denver; New
York City; Portland, Ore.; St. Louis; and
Seattle.
The report says state housing finance
agencies should prioritize the allocation of
low-income housing tax credits to the
preservation of affordable housing near
transit, and the federal government should
continue its commitment to the Sec. 8 program.
For more information, visit
www.nhtinc.org.
|
