A new section for redevelopment projects has been added to North Carolina's qualified allocation plan (QAP) this year.
The move expands and combines several different policies, according to Mark Shelburne, counsel and policy coordinator at the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA).
Under the 2012 QAP, the following requirements must be met to qualify as a redevelopment project:
- • The site contains or contained at least one structure used for commercial, residential, educational, or governmental purposes;
- • The application proposes adaptive reuse with historic rehabilitation credits and/or new construction;
- • Any required demolition has been completed or is scheduled for completion in 2012 (not including the project buildings);
- • A unit of local government initiated the project and has invested community development resources in the half-mile area within the last 10 years; and
- • As of the preliminary application deadline, a unit of local government formally adopted a plan to address the deterioration in the half-mile area and approved one or more of the following for the project: donation of at least one parcel of land; waiver of impact, tap, or related fees normally charged; or commitment to lend/ grant at least $75,000 of its housing development funds.
In another move, the final QAP allows for the agency to boost the eligible basis of projects awarded low-income housing tax credits in 2012 by up to 15 percent if the deadline for the fixed 9 percent credit rate is not extended. This excludes projects using the “difficult development area” or “qualified census tract” basis increase.
