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North Dakota Housing Finance Agency Awards Development Assistance

Published on November 22, 2017 by North Dakota Housing Finance Agency
North Dakota Housing Finance Agency Awards Development Assistance

BISMARK, ND — North Dakota’s most vulnerable households will benefit from affordable housing development assistance project awards made by North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA).

Seven developers received funding commitments from NDHFA in November. The awards were made through three federal programs — $3.16 million in tax credit authority through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, $2.72 million from the National Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and $460,000 from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) — and $2.65 million from the state’s Housing Incentive Fund (HIF).

”The projects that North Dakota Housing Finance Agency selected support the state’s efforts to address behavioral health and criminal justice issues while ensuring North Dakota’s aging and disabled households and lower-wage workers have safe and affordable housing as well,” said Jolene Kline, NDHFA executive director. ”By ensuring that our most vulnerable state residents have a safe and affordable place to call home, we reduce the overall burden placed on the communities and our state.”

About the Projects

  • Edwinton Place in Bismarck, a ”Housing First” project spearheaded by Burleigh County Housing Authority, was awarded $813,000 in LIHTCs. NDHFA also made commitments of $1,026,147 from the HTF, $500,000 from HIF and $460,000 from NSP. It will provide permanent supportive housing for 40 individuals coming directly out of homelessness.
  • The Edge Artist Flats in Fargo, a Commonwealth Development Corp. project, received $740,000 in LIHTCs and $1,369,263 from the HTF. The 42-unit, family-friendly development will provide supportive services to its disabled tenants and to households at risk of homelessness.
  • HomeField 2 Apartments in Fargo is the second phase of a Beyond Shelter Inc. (BSI) development. NDHFA awarded $504,437 in LIHTCs to support the development of 39 senior apartments including eight accessible units.
  • Ellendale Apartments, an Affordable Housing Developers Inc. acquisition and rehab project, was awarded $755,000 from HIF to support the redevelopment of a 32-unit property including accessibility improvements that improve the livability of the property for the tenants with disabilities.
  • Pure Downtown in Grand Forks, a project of Dakota Commercial, received $1.1 million conditional commitment through HIF to reserve 25 of its 50 apartments for low- to moderate-income households.
  • Dakota Heights in West Fargo, a Southhill Properties LLC project, received $425,100 in LIHTCs. The senior housing project will have a vacancy preference for elderly veterans with Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers. Six of the 30 units will be reserved as permanent supportive housing for individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities.
  • Grace Garden in West Fargo, a joint venture of the YWCA of Cass Clay and BSI, received $672,500 in LIHTCs. NDHFA also made a commitment of $325,549 from the HTF and $500,000 from HIF. The supportive housing project will serve 30 households at risk of homelessness, many of whom are transitioning from domestic violence.

About the Programs
”North Dakota Housing Finance Agency received 27 total applications for assistance from 14 projects during our fall 2017 funding rounds. The greatest demand was for support from the LIHTC and the HTF programs, more than twice what the programs could provide,” said Kline.

LIHTC provides an indirect federal subsidy used to finance the construction or rehabilitation of rental housing for lower-income households. The purpose of the HTF is to increase and preserve the supply of housing for extremely low-income households including homeless families. NSP supports the acquisition of foreclosed, abandoned or vacant properties in targeted areas for redevelopment into affordable rental housing. And HIF, the only state-funded program, strengthens communities by supporting the development or preservation of rental housing for essential service workers and low- to moderate-income households.

All of NDHFA’s development programs have allocation plans that are reviewed annually to ensure that the projects that receive financial awards are addressing the state’s greatest housing needs. The application process for each program is competitive with the top scoring projects receiving the awards. Each applicant must provide evidence that there is a need for the type of housing proposed, that the community supports the development, and that construction costs are reasonable. The period of affordability for the projects supported with federal funds is 30 years, HIF’s is 20 years.

About NDHFA
A public financial institution dedicated to making housing affordable for all North Dakotans, NDHFA is overseen by the North Dakota Industrial Commission which consists of Governor Doug Burgum, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. More information about the programs administered by NDHFA and the projects awarded development assistance is available online at www.ndhfa.org.

Media Contact:
Sarah Mudder
Communications and Events Coordinator
smudder@nd.gov
(701) 328-8056