Building Affordable Housing Around Community Priorities

Affordable housing projects can stall long before construction begins. The financing may depend on several sources, and they do not always move at the same pace. One approval may be in place while another is still pending. Meanwhile, a local government may be trying to add much-needed housing with limited public funds and opposition to a zoning change. A developer has to keep all of those pieces moving until a workable idea becomes a project that can be financed.

Putting that financing together can be even harder in smaller communities. Rents may be lower than in an urban market, but it does not necessarily cost less to build there. That gap can leave a project relying on tax credits, local contributions, other forms of public support and private equity. Historic rehabilitation can make the equation harder still. Bringing enough funding sources together to close the gap takes careful planning, but their requirements should not dictate the housing design. The financing also has to work beyond closing. Compliance requirements, ownership obligations and commitments to residents can remain in place for years, so a funding structure has to hold up long after construction is finished.

A project also has to make sense to the community where it will be built. Support from a municipality involves more than securing dollars at closing. A zoning issue or neighborhood objection can change the direction of a development after months of planning. Site requirements can shift after some of the financing has already been assembled. Early conversations with public agencies and neighborhood stakeholders give developers more time to work through those issues without losing what the project was meant to accomplish. Lenders, investors, architects and public partners also need to know when budget pressures emerge, before those pressures become disputes late in the process.

Design is often where a tight budget becomes visible. Meeting an affordable rent target does not mean residents should end up with cramped living spaces or a building that seems disconnected from the neighborhood around it. Larger living areas and well-planned circulation affect what it is like to live in the home every day. The exterior matters too. Architecture that belongs in the surrounding streetscape can influence how the development is received by the community. These are practical considerations in housing intended to serve residents for years, not extras that only make sense in market-rate projects.

Supportive housing has another set of pieces to coordinate. Private equity generally pays for the real estate, while counseling and other services for residents may be provided by separate agencies. Those relationships have to work together without confusing who is responsible for the property and who is responsible for the services. Rent-to-own communities bring a different long-term arrangement. The design of the units, escrow structure, ownership options and compliance periods all have to line up over a period that can stretch for years.

Even a well-structured project can face a changing funding landscape. If fewer tax credits or other housing incentives are available, cities and counties may have to contribute more. Developers then have less room to solve a financing shortfall simply by finding another source of subsidy. They still have to keep the project viable without making cuts to quality the automatic response. That puts more weight on the financing decisions made at the beginning.

Hatch Development Group has built its affordable housing practice around the realities of bringing complex, community-based projects to fruition. Its experience also extends to supportive housing, rent-to-own communities, historic preservation and creative financing. Projects may involve numerous funding sources as well as ongoing participation from local governments and community stakeholders. Design remains part of the equation throughout, including in housing, where affordability places tight limits on the budget. For difficult sites and projects with several layers of financing, Hatch Development Group provides the development experience to coordinate those financial, community and design requirements over the life of the project.