Housing Trust Fund outlines grants, forgivable loans and recent awards to address Iowa City-area affordability

Ellen McCabe, executive staff of the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County, told the Iowa City Housing Commission that the trust fund's mission is to "promote and support housing that is affordable" and described two core programs: a revolving loan fund and an owner-occupied rehabilitation program intended to assist low-income homeowners and providers. McCabe said the trust fund's two programs together typically help about 15 homeowners per year through federal and local matching funds.

McCabe described how the fund uses a mix of awards: grants for projects without property security (often for households at the very lowest incomes), 0% forgivable loans primarily to small nonprofits, and low-interest repayable loans (1%–4%) for for-profit organizations depending on project finances. She said the fund also sometimes uses blended "combo"…