Thirty developments have been selected to receive low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) and or other financing from the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC). State credits, HOME, and other MHDC financing were also approved.
The move comes after a three-month freeze. The commission reportedly delayed approving the tax credits in December as part of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's negotiations with a group of senators to approve an incentive package to lure a Boeing aircraft plant to the state. Missouri did not win the plant.
On the other side, the senators have been hoping to negotiate changes to the tax credit program, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
MHDC leaders reserved nearly $14 million in federal LIHTCs for the selected developments, which will provide about 1,500 affordable housing units.
Five projects in the Kansas City area and eight in St. Louis area were among the developments receiving financing.
The latest awards come at a time when the state housing tax credit is under increasing scrutiny. A March report by the state auditor says “only $0.42 of every tax credit dollar issued actually goes toward the construction of low income housing; the remainder goes to the federal government in the form of increased federal income taxes; to syndication firms; and to investors.”
