CONNECTICUT

By Bendix Anderson

ROCKY HILL—Developers have already laid claim to more than a third of Connecticut’s $6.9 million in 2008 low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), even though applications aren’t due until the end of February.

That’s because the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) forward allocated $2.9 million in 2008 LIHTCs as part of its 2007 round.

The five developments that received 2008 forward allocations were high priority projects for CHFA. One is a supportivehousing community, and the other four projects will redevelop severely distressed and obsolete public housing, including two federal and two state properties, said Sheila Stone, tax credit officer for CHFA.

CHFA is trying to fill an enormous need to preserve Connecticut’s public housing, which suffers from a lack of capital and operating funding, said Stone. "In the past they had more funding available to them," she said.

Applications for the remaining $4 million in 2008 LIHTCs will be due Feb. 28, according to a tentative timeline. The 2008 qualified allocation plan for the competition will be finalized in January.

Demand was high for LIHTCs in 2007. Developers applied for $11.9 million in 2007 LIHTCs, well above the $9.8 million CHFA had to reserve. That amount includes the forward allocations.

Plans to rehabilitate distressed public housing will take advantage of tax-exempt bond financing in 2007 and 2008, said Stone. CHFA financed one such 32-unit project in 2007 with $3.3 million in taxexempt bonds, and has approved two more projects that may close their financing by the end of the year.

CHFA can use up to $65 million of the state’s $180 million in 2008 bond cap to finance rental housing. "The first barrier is getting a deal that works," said Stone.

CHFA also plans to issue 501(c)(3) bonds to help finance supportive-housing communities. The authority plans to provide soft loans to 200 new supportivehousing apartments with $48 million in bonds through its Next Step Supportive Housing Initiative.

2008 LIHTC PROGRAM: