NEBRASKA

By Jerry Ascierto

LINCOLN—The Nebraska Investment Finance Authority (NIFA) will put more emphasis on green building design in its 2008 qualified allocation plan (QAP).

NIFA increased the number of points awarded for projects with green design to five from three out of a possible 12 points in its "design standards" category.

To win all five points, developments must either include a geothermal heating system, or meet the standards of Nebraska’s "Green Built Home Program," which can be found at www.neo.ne.gov/ home_const/worksheet_g1-06.pdf.

First-round applications were due Nov. 30, 2007, and second-round applications are due April 11, 2008, with reservations announced in May. A third round is possible if any credits remain after the first two rounds. The maximum low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) award will be nearly $620,000, or 18 percent of the total allocation.

In 2007, NIFA received requests for $8.8 million in LIHTCs, putting the demand-to-supply ratio at 2.6 to 1. In all, 13 projects received 2007 reservations, which will fund 477 tax credit units out of 525 units overall. All of the tax credit units were targeted at those earning up to 60 percent of the area median income.

New construction became an even more prominent project type in 2007, receiving all of NIFA’s LIHTC allocations, up from 85 percent in 2006. The median award was $265,000.

Half of all tax credit units that received 2007 reservations were for seniors housing, following a change in the 2007 QAP that doubled the number of points awarded to assisted-living developments to four.

In 2007, NIFA far exceeded its 10 percent set-aside for nonprofits by reserving 40 percent of its LIHTCs to nonprofit organizations.

Tax-exempt bonds

The statewide tax-exempt privateactivity bond volume cap is projected to be $263 million in 2008, up $7 million from 2007’s $256 million. Approximately $52.6 million is set aside in a pool that covers not only multifamily housing but also firsttime farmers and small manufacturers. The maximum allocation per project is $10 million.

In 2007, only two multifamily projects received bond financing, but that was two more than 2006, when no projects were submitted for review.