CRA staff notified the board that the agency released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) on Oct. 21 for a housing development loan program with $8,000,000 available to provide gap financing for affordable housing development. Eligible proposals must meet board-set thresholds, including at least 10% of units targeted to deeply affordable households (30% AMI or less) or family-sized units targeted at 60% AMI.

Staff also announced more than $6,000,000 in funds targeted to residential wealth-building efforts, which can support homeownership, shared-equity models and other strategies to help low- and moderate-income households build long-term financial stability. Combined, the funding opportunities put more than $14,000,000 in financing on the street; applications are due Dec. 4.

The CRA also noted an upcoming ribbon cutting on Dec. 2 for Citizens West 2 and 3, a project that received just over $3,000,000 through the CRA’s competitive NOFA and will deliver 80 units with a range of unit sizes and income targeting. Staff summarized a recent ribbon cutting for the Perpetual Housing Fund (PHF) adaptive reuse project at 515 East 100 South that converted office floors into 96 affordable units, and reminded the board that the CRA invested $10,000,000 in ARPA funds as equity into PHF to seed acquisitions and help projects reach construction financing.

Staff said PHF intends to revolve seed funds as projects close and expects the initial investment to help produce additional projects and units over the next decade; staff committed to providing a more detailed PHF report and to review contract off-ramps and reporting metrics at a future meeting (targeting January or February).