REGIONAL REPORT
SOUTH CENTRAL
MHDC Approves Funding for ’08
BY DANA ENFINGER
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE • MARCH 2008
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Preserving affordable units
for public housing and in
rural areas continued to be a
focus for Missouri after
funding for 34 rental projects
for fiscal 2008 was approved.
The Missouri Housing Development
Commission (MHDC) reserved more
than $6.9 million in low-income housing
tax credits (LIHTCs) and more than $4.3
million more in LIHTC set-asides.
“There is still a tremendous need
throughout the state for preservation,
workforce housing, and senior citizen
housing,” said Pete Ramsel, executive
director for MHDC. “Staff did an excellent
job of balancing these needs and trying to
stretch the available funding.”
All four projects awarded reservations
in the Kansas City metro were developments
for low-income seniors for two special
reasons.
The first is because two of those communities
preserve existing housing. The
second is because one of the projects,
Pemberton Park for Grandfamilies, serves
an important part of the community:
grandparents who are also primary caregivers
for their grandchildren. The developer
of this unique project is locally based
Cougar Capital, LLC. An area hospital
developed support programs for these
families. Ramsel said 4,800 such households
exist in the Kansas City area alone.
Just under half of the total funding
for 2008 went to affordable communities
outside Kansas City and St. Louis, and
much of that funding went to developments
in rural areas. Still, more need
exists for affordable rural rental housing.
“To make a real difference in rural
development, we still are in great need of
federal legislation allowing the tax credit
income limits to be the greater of the area
median income or statewide median
income,” said Ramsel. “Without [such]
legislation, there are families making minimum
wage that cannot qualify for tax
credit units. Until this is remedied, we
will not be able to address the housing
problems in rural Missouri to the full
extent.”
Ramsel has stressed the rural need
since he took over as head of the MHDC
last June.
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