CHFA Awarded $5.5 Million in Capital Magnet Funds to Support Affordable Housing
(DENVER) – Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) has been awarded a $5.5 million Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) grant to support the development and preservation of affordable rental housing across Colorado. CHFA was selected to receive an award among 48 total recipients nationwide. This is the fourth CMF award that CHFA has received, bringing the total award amount to more than $24.6 million, receiving $6 million in 2020, $6 million in 2019, and $7.1 million in 2018.
“The Capital Magnet Fund is a vital resource to help address Colorado’s affordable housing shortage and CHFA is thankful to be awarded a grant for the fourth consecutive year,” said Cris White, executive director and CEO of CHFA. “With Colorado’s population growing at more than twice the national rate in the last five years and the pandemic further straining Colorado’s need for affordable housing, CHFA expects to commit CMF resources quickly, as it has in years past based on strong demand.”
CHFA will use the award to fill gaps in funding needed to construct or preserve affordable rental housing. CHFA anticipates that a minimum of 70 percent will be invested in areas of economic distress and 20 percent in rural areas. CHFA also plans for at least 65 percent of all affordable rental housing units supported with the funds to serve households earning at or below 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). For example, in Denver County, 50 percent AMI for a two-person household is $40,000 and in Montezuma County, is $28,400.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Colorado ranks 10th in the nation’s highest percentage of cost-burdened renters who pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs. In addition, there are only 31 available affordable homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter household.
The CMF is administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). The CMF was established by Congress in 2008 and offers competitively awarded grants to finance affordable housing solutions and community revitalization efforts. For more information about the CMF, visit www.cdfifund.gov.
About CHFA
CHFA strengthens Colorado by investing in affordable housing and community development. Created in 1973, CHFA invests in loans to low- and moderate-income homebuyers through our network of participating lenders, and makes loans to affordable multifamily rental housing developers and small and medium sized businesses. CHFA also provides education and technical assistance about affordable housing and economic development. CHFA is a self-sustaining public enterprise. CHFA issued debt is not the obligation of the state. For more information about CHFA please visit www.chfainfo.com, call its Denver office at 1.800.877.chfa (2432), or its Western Slope office at 1.800.877.8450.
