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IFF reports Ottawa County fund deployment, flags short-term CDFI uncertainty
Summary
Chris, an IFF representative, told the Ottawa County Housing Policy Commission that a recent executive order briefly raised concern about the federal CDFI Fund but Treasury comments eased immediate risk.
Chris, an IFF representative, told the Ottawa County Housing Policy Commission that a recent executive order briefly raised concerns about funding for community development financial institutions but that Treasury remarks helped calm immediate uncertainty. "IFF is a community development financial institution," he said, describing the role of the federal CDFI Fund and IFF's relationship to it.
Why it matters: IFF said it has already deployed most county-provided capital and is seeing rising project demand in Ottawa County. County funds paired with IFF's balance sheet and other partners are being used to lower loan rates and expand affordable housing development in the region.
At the meeting, Chris said the CDFI Fund often receives about $300,000,000 annually and that an executive order earlier in the month had caused customers and borrowers to ask whether lending would continue. He said Treasury officials subsequently emphasized the importance of CDFIs and that IFF is working with congressional staff and other partners to reinforce support. "We have well diversified revenue streams, strong balance sheet, lots of capital to lend," he said.
Chris reported program-level details for the county housing fund: "You can see 6 point almost 6,800,000.0 of the 10,000,000 of the county funds have been deployed," meaning the fund has begun disbursing county capital alongside IFF and other partners. He said total development across several projects aggregates to more than 500 units, about 435 of which are designated affordable, and that IFF expects some capital to recycle as construction loans convert to permanent financing.
IFF described its lending terms in general terms: loans are typically structured as 15- to 17-year initial deals with rate resets approximately every five years; staff said current customer rates on IFF-funded projects have been around 5%–6% while comparable market rates were closer to 7.25%–7.5% at the time of the meeting.
During public comment, Steve Gross of Givory Ministries described a county-funded project in Holland that he said has state stormwater approvals and is scheduled to start construction in the next weeks. Gross said price points for the first buildings would be about $160,000 for two units and $99,000 for four units on the site and that construction timelines are roughly seven to eight months.
Commissioners and staff discussed coordination with local partners, including community foundations and HousingNex, and the opportunity to use local TIF and corridor strategies to attract developers. Commissioners encouraged continued strategic alignment between county funds and local planning efforts.
Votes at a glance: The meeting recorded two routine procedural motions. A motion to approve the agenda was moved and seconded and approved by voice vote. A separate motion to approve the minutes was likewise moved, seconded and approved by voice vote; individual roll-call tallies were not recorded in the transcript.
What’s next: IFF said it will continue monitoring federal developments affecting the CDFI Fund and continue outreach to investors and partners to grow or recapitalize the program. Staff and commissioners agreed to pursue strategic planning to stack local tools for targeted development sites.
