PENNSYLVANIA — The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has announced funding recipients for the Housing Options Grant Program, awarding $4.3 million to 11 housing projects. The money will be used to make emergency repairs to multifamily buildings so that 375 affordable apartments will remain available for renters.
“Part of the strategy for expanding affordable housing in Pennsylvania is to keep current affordable housing stock from falling into disrepair and being taken out of service,” said PHFA Executive Director and CEO Robin Wiessmann. “We’re grateful to the General Assembly for making this funding available so that we don’t lose critical housing resources.”
The $100 million Housing Options Grant Program was funded in the 2022-23 state budget, and PHFA was directed to administer it. The program provides the housing agency with a new affordable housing development tool by making money available to create or preserve more affordable rental housing in the state.
This is the first year of the program which will fund emergency repairs to existing affordable rental units, the rehab and preservation of currently existing affordable apartments, and the construction of new affordable rental units.
A list of the 11 emergency repair recipients is available on the PHFA website at: https://www.phfa.org/mhp/; see July 13, 2023, bullet under “News & Awards 2019 – Present.” Additional awards will be announced later in the year. Funding for the program comes from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and must be allocated by the end of 2024.
The Housing Options Grant Program is intended to fund housing that has not already received Low Income Housing Tax Credit funding, or that does not anticipate receiving LIHTC funding during the next four years. LIHTC developments from 2018 through 2026 are not eligible to apply. Additionally, applications for projects that are still in the LIHTC IRS compliance period (initial 15 years) are not eligible to apply.
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