The Georgia Department of Community Affairs announced it will award $20.5 million federal housing tax credits to construct or rehabilitate 25 affordable rental housing properties located throughout the state. The developments include affordable housing for working families, housing for Georgia seniors and housing for persons with disabilities, and were selected from 79 applications in the annual competition.

“Our goal for Georgia is strong, vibrant, livable and affordable communities – whether that is in urban areas or rural towns.  At DCA, we find partners equally as passionate about creating exceptional communities, then provide the technical and economic assistance to help them create this vision,” said DCA Commissioner Camila Knowles.  “Together, we are building affordable places to live, with wonderful amenities and access to excellent transportation, services, schools, and jobs.  By providing much-needed affordable housing for our workforce and our seniors, these properties help those who serve their communities to live and thrive in those communities.”

The Housing Credit is the nation’s and Georgia’s main tool to create and preserve affordable housing for households that need it most, including working families, veterans, people with special needs, seniors, teachers, nurses, firefighters and police. Virtually all affordable apartments built each year are financed through the Housing Credit. In Georgia, the Housing Credit has financed the development of over 149,000 homes, supported nearly 169,000 jobs, and generated over $16 billion in local income and $6.3 billion in tax revenues.

The 2016 awards will add 1,628 affordable units to DCA’s affordable housing inventory, bringing the total inventory of units to about 92,000. Private investors contribute equity into partnerships, in exchange for tax credits, to generate the construction of new housing and the rehabilitation of existing units. The estimated economic impact in the initial year of this year’s tax credit award includes more than $250 million in local income, nearly $47.5 million in local government revenue, and nearly 3,500 jobs from construction expenditures. The awards also spur nearly 950 ongoing local jobs each year.

The new units are located in both rural and urban areas in the state. They are anticipated to be available for tenant occupancy in late 2018.

The Housing Credit was part of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Over its 30-year life, the Housing Credit has become the most successful affordable rental housing production program in U.S. history, financing the development of nearly 2.9 million rental homes throughout the nation and providing 6.7 million low-income families, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities homes they can afford.

Georgia developments receiving funding in the 2015 round are listed below.