FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 23, 2008

           LANSING – Interim Executive Director of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Keith Molin today announced that affordable rental housing will be built or renovated for modest income Michigan families, the elderly, people with disabilities, and those at risk of homelessness as a result of approval by the Authority board and acceptance by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm of MSHDA’s Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP).  The 1986 Tax Reform Act allows for the award of federal Housing Tax Credits as incentives to developers to develop low-income housing projects for people with low and moderate incomes in accordance with guidelines published in a QAP originated at the state level. The Authority estimates that $16.6 million in tax credits will be allocated in the fall 2008 funding round.
      The $16.6 million in tax credits will leverage $166 million in private funding generating nearly 1,200 yearlong jobs in construction and related trades. In addition approximately 865 units of affordable housing will be constructed.
      “We were able to meet the tentative time frame that we announced in April, due to a dedicated staff effort,” said Molin. “It is our intention to have the Michigan 2008 Tax Credit allotment awarded no later than the first week in October.”
      Molin stressed that the QAP reaffirms three policy commitments in support of Gov. Granholm’s agenda.
      “Those commitments include providing affordable housing in Michigan. In addition, the QAP provides support for those with special needs and homeless populations,” Molin said. “Together these will move us closer to our goal of developing vibrant communities and neighborhoods across the state.”
Established by Congress in the 1986 Tax Reform Act, the aim of the Housing Tax Credit is to stimulate private investment in affordable rental housing and thus to expand and preserve the nation’s affordable housing stock.
      Owners and investors in low income housing may apply to receive a tax credit against their federal tax liability if the rental housing has at least 20 percent of its units for households with incomes at or below 50 percent of the area median, or 40 percent of its units reserved for households with incomes at or below 60 percent of the area median.
      “The Housing Tax Credit program is extremely successful,” Molin added. It provides affordable housing statewide from special needs residents in Grand Rapids, to senior citizens in Flint, to working families in Marquette in the Upper Peninsula.”
            MSHDA is a quasi-state agency that provides financial and technical assistance through public and private partnerships to create and preserve safe and decent affordable housing, engage in building vibrant cities and neighborhoods, and address homeless issues.  MSHDA’s loans and operating expenses are financed through the sale of tax-exempt and taxable bonds and notes to private investors, not from state tax revenues. For more information on MSHDA programs and initiatives, visit the Web site at www.michigan.gov/mshda.