Residential Housing Incentives
One of Invest Atlanta’s core competencies is real estate finance, and we administer several loan programs for the development of workforce housing.
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One of Invest Atlanta’s core competencies is real estate finance, and we administer several loan programs for the development of workforce housing.
Tax exempt bonds are issued by the Urban Residential Finance Authority (the Housing Finance group of Invest Atlanta) to assist with the accomplishment of growth in multifamily housing.
URFA is empowered to issue tax exempt bonds to make below market interest rate mortgage loans to developers for rental housing provided Internal Revenue Service section 142 requirements are met to ensure that a percentage of the rental units benefit low and moderate-income renters.
Each year URFA receives a tax-exempt bond allocation from GA Department of Community Affairs. URFA serves as a conduit bond issuer. Bonds are issued on a first-come, first-served basis based on availability of allocation. There is no maximum amount of bonds that can be allocated to a single development. Eligible projects must be located within the city of Atlanta.
Any tax-exempt bond funds allocated pursuant to this program must be used to provide permanent financing for the development. The allocation is not intended for short-term financing, or “bridge” financing, or any refinancing, which is not the permanent financing for the development; however, it can be used for construction financing and be taken out by another source under certain conditions.
Check out our Developer Application Process below for information on how to proceed.
The Housing Opportunity Bond Fund (HOB) was created to provide gap financing to address a growing need for affordable workforce housing units across the income spectrum for homeowners, builders, developers and community housing development organizations in the City of Atlanta.
Moneys held in the program fund will be used for low interest loans to developers to finance in part the acquisition, construction or renovation of housing. These funds may be used in conjunction with conventional financing, bond financing or other private/public financing to construct and/or rehabilitate residential housing and finance predevelopment and site development costs. No HOB loan may be made or unconditionally committed to be made unless the developer has evidence of a firm commitment letter from funding sources detailing the terms and conditions for the balance of the total costs of the housing development.
The obligation to repay the loan shall be evidenced by a promissory note and shall be secured by a deed to secure debt. Each housing project financed with HOB funds shall be regulated by a land use restriction agreement for a minimum of 15 years. Funding is subject to availability.
Check out our Developer Application Process below for information on how to proceed.
The Housing Opportunity Bond Fund (HOB) was created to provide gap financing to address a growing need for affordable workforce housing units across the income spectrum for homeowners,builders,developers and community housing development organizations in the City of Atlanta.
Moneys held in the program fund will be used for low interest loans to developers to finance in part the acquisition, construction or renovation of housing. These funds may be used in conjunction with conventional financing, bond financing or other private/public financing to construct and/or rehabilitate residential housing and finance predevelopment and site development costs. No HOB loan may be made or unconditionally committed to be made unless the developer has evidence of a firm commitment letter from funding sources detailing the terms and conditions for the balance of the total costs of the housing development.
The obligation to repay the loan shall be evidenced by a promissory note and shall be secured by a deed to secure debt. Each housing project financed with HOB funds shall be regulated by a land use restriction agreement. Funding is subject to availability.
Check out our Developer Application Process below for information on how to proceed.
Financing is available for Community Housing Development Organizations (Nonprofits) through Housing Opportunity Bond funds.
Moneys held in the program fund will be used for low interest loans to developers to finance in part the acquisition, construction or renovation of housing. These funds may be used in conjunction with conventional financing, bond financing or other private/public financing to construct and/or rehabilitate residential housing and finance predevelopment and site development costs. No HOB loan may be made or unconditionally committed to be made unless the developer has evidence of a firm commitment letter from funding sources detailing the terms and conditions for the balance of the total costs of the housing development.
The obligation to repay the loan shall be evidenced by a promissory note and shall be secured by a deed to secure debt. Each housing project financed with HOB funds shall be regulated by a land use restriction agreement. Funding is subject to availability.
Check out our Developer Application Process below for information on how to proceed.
A partnership between the City of Atlanta acting through Invest Atlanta (IA) and the United Way Regional Commission on Homelessness (RCOH) created to capitalize on the community’s success in reducing homelessness counts in Atlanta.
In February 2017, the City of Atlanta announced the $50 million HomeFirst initiative to achieve these goals by investing in proven housing strategies and supportive services and made a bold commitment of $25 million in city funds to match private contributions to the HomeFirst initiative.
The Community/Housing Development Trust Fund was established in 1989 by the City of Atlanta, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority and Fulton County to support the revitalization of the Vine City and English Avenue communities.
The City of Atlanta designated the Urban Residential Finance Authority (URFA) as the administrator for the Trust Fund. Through the Trust fund, loans in the total amount of $8 million were made to for–profit, non-profit developers and homebuyers to provide for new and rehabilitated rental housing as well as homeownership opportunities.
The repayment dollars for these loans revolves into a program income account and is used to make additional loans for eligible housing development in Vine City and English Avenue.
Check out our Developer Application Process below for information on how to proceed.
The HOME Investment Partnership Program is a federally funded program that assists in the production and preservation of affordable housing for low to moderate-income families and individuals.
The program funds costs associated with new construction, acquisition and rehabilitation of rental properties.
The HOME assisted project must meet the affordability requirements for not less than the applicable period specified in the chart below beginning after project completion. The affordability period is based on the HOME investment per unit.
Check out our Developer Application Process below for information on how to proceed.
The Atlanta City Council created a BAHTF to promote the creation and preservation of affordable housing within the Beltline neighborhoods.
Affordable housing is a critical component of the Beltline development. Grant funds from BAHTF add a necessary, flexible and unprecedented tool to Atlanta’s affordable housing toolkit. These funds can be combined with other affordable housing programs and city incentives and leveraged with private dollars to construct or renovate affordable housing units in the city. The goal of the BAHTF is to create a balanced mix of rental and owner occupied housing units and to encourage the distribution of affordable housing around the beltline.
These grants will be provided to non-profit and for profit multifamily developers offering affordable workforce housing rental units along the Atlanta BeltLine. Grant funds may be used to finance acquisition, construction or renovation of multifamily housing for families at or below 60% of Area Median Income (as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development). These grants to developers are enforced by a Land Use Restriction Agreement (LURA). The total amount of the grant dollars may not exceed 30% of the total development costs with a cap of $2 million per multifamily development. The developer is required to obtain additional financing from other sources to complete the development.
Projects involving a combination of nonprofit organizations with for profit partners and investors, adhere to the Atlanta BeltLine Design Guidelines, have affordable rental units for persons at or below 30% of AMI and market to public servants (city, county, Atlanta Public School employees) and City of Atlanta residents will be given top priority.
Grants are available to multifamily, single family and CHDO developers from the Beltline Affordable Housing Trust Fund to finance multifamily and single family developments along the Beltline.
BAHTF dollars will only be awarded to those developments that would not be economically feasible without this public subsidy. The amount of funding granted to a specific development may reflect an award of less than 100% of the requested amount based on the assessment of financial need made by Invest Atlanta and other factors as determined by Invest Atlanta.
Verify that your property/parcel is in the Beltline TAD at gis.atlantaga.gov
Check out our Developer Application Process below for information on how to proceed.
Download the Invest Atlanta Workforce Housing Income Limits and Maximums here:
1. Register in Neighborly - Neighborly Portal
When you access the Portal for the first time, you’ll need to register your account by clicking on the register link. The registration process will create a username (which is your email address) and password that will be used for future logins. The email address you choose will also be used for system emails/notifications, so it is recommended to use your primary email address. For security purposes, the system will validate that you own the registered email address by sending an email with a validation link.
2. Complete & Submit Preliminary Questionnaire
After logging into Neighborly, select ‘Development Incentives Application’ and complete the preliminary questionnaire. Upon receiving a completed questionnaire, Invest Atlanta project managers will review and contact you with additional questions. If the project is determined to be eligible for a funding program, you will be granted access to the development incentives application.
3. Obtain NPU Recommendation Letter
All projects seeking Invest Atlanta funding, except for TAD funding programs*, will require an NPU presentation and recommendation letter (*Projects within the Beltline TAD and the Westside TAD neighborhoods of English Avenue and Vine City will require an NPU presentation and recommendation letter). An NPU letter is not required at the time of initial application submission but will be required prior to advancing a funding application to our Board for approval. Please consider this process in your timing. Click here to review complete community engagement guidelines, request a presentation date, and see a sample letter.
4. Complete & Submit a Development Incentives Application
Upon receipt of an application, Invest Atlanta staff will review the application for content and completeness. After a fully complete application has been reviewed for consistency with Invest Atlanta and programmatic goals, staff will analyze and evaluate the project. The project manager will contact you with any additional questions and to provide a timeline overview.