Committee reviews estimated costs to convert units tied to Fannie Mae financing

At its April meeting, the New Canaan Portable House Committee reviewed cost estimates for converting residential units to meet affordability requirements tied to Fannie Mae financing, and discussed possible Department of Housing financing to reduce conversion costs.

The committee heard that Scott Hobbs provided estimates showing differing per-unit costs depending on the target affordability level. "I did, manage to get some numbers from Scott Hobbs just to get a sense of the cost for conversion," an official said during the discussion. The official reported a per-unit figure of "303,000 per unit" to move units to an 80 percent area median income standard, and a figure of "395" for conversion to a 60 percent state median income standard; a higher figure of "somewhere around $5.75" was cited for converting a current market-rate unit. The speaker said those numbers came from correspondence with the Department of Housing and that the figures "do move a little bit."

Committee members noted that the Fannie Mae financing requires a share of units be affordable; the committee was told roughly 20 percent of units ("about 20 units") will need to be made affordable within a year of closing. The committee discussed pursuing Department of Housing financing as a way to make 80 percent or 60 percent median-income targets more feasible.

No formal vote or decision was taken during the discussion. Committee members requested follow-up information and noted the last correspondence on the figures was in February.

The discussion was largely informational and recorded as part of ongoing planning tied to a potential conversion project; committee members asked staff to verify and update the cost estimates and to report back at a future meeting.