Affordable Homeownership

Smith NMTC believes in the power of homeownership to change the personal fortunes and futures of American families and to restore long-term economic equity to our communities. That’s why we work with nonprofit housing developers throughout the country to increase their capacity to provide families with a place to call home.

Research shows that in addition to generating wealth for families, homeownership leads to better educational outcomes for homeowners’ children, more disposable income that is reinvested in local businesses, and a sense of pride in home and neighborhood that lifts the community as well.

Homeownership benefits distressed communities by adding to the tax base, raising market rates, providing housing for local employees, beautifying neighborhoods, and sustaining those efforts with committed, engaged and proud homeowners.

With a $6 million NMTC allocation in 2022 and another $6 million NMTC allocation in 2023, Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Baltimore acquired and rehabilitated 50 single-family rowhomes in West Baltimore. All of the properties are located in a neighborhood where high vacancy rates contributed to community distress. Each home received $100,000–$250,000 in quality renovations to meet homebuyer needs. NHS of Baltimore prioritizes working with small and local contractors to amplify the impact of community investment. Over 55% of the homes rehabbed with these allocations were sold to low-income buyers earning 80% AMI or below. 

Better Housing Coalition (BHC) is a leader in community revitalization and collaborating with residents, local government, and organizational stakeholders to create positive change. BHC used its NMTC-supported loan to develop 20 homes in the Armstrong Renaissance Project — a large-scale redevelopment of the former Armstrong High School located in the Church Hill neighborhood. In 2015, the Richmond City Council adopted a plan authorizing the redevelopment of the site to include up to 300 residential units, a large community building, and expansive open space. The vision for the community was to create a mixed-income development with a range of price points for buyers earning between 60% and 120% AMI. The project also has homes specifically reserved for first-time homebuyers earning at or below 80% AMI, who will receive $15,000 in downpayment assistance and closing costs. 

NeighborWorks Columbus (NWC) has leveraged a $6M allocation in 2022 and a $8M allocation in 2023 to support the development of the Elliot’s Walk subdivision in Columbus, Georgia. Elliott’s Walk was the first new housing designed specifically for homeownership in South Columbus in over 50 years and was created, in part, to provide a solution for the predominantly low-income active-duty soldiers and veterans who struggle to find homes affordable for purchase. The project is the result of a community collaboration with custom home builder Hal Averett, the First Baptist Church in Columbus, and residents — the completed development will include a variety of housing options and NWC will sell at least 80% of the homes to low-income homebuyers earning 80% AMI or below. Additionally, the project was granted Georgia’s first Rural Workforce Housing Initiative funding, setting a statewide precedent.

With a $7 million NMTC-supported loan, Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) developed the infrastructure for 26 homes and completed the construction for 14 with 3 including accessory dwelling units or ADUs The Village on Rivoli is located in the diverse neighborhood less than a mile east of downtown St. Paul called Railroad Island (RRI). Much of its current housing is substandard, poorly laid out, and uneconomical to rehabilitate. Despite challenges, RRI is an ideal location for new single-family homes with excellent access to mass transit, bike trails, and nearby highways. Over 1,000 new jobs are being created within walking distance, and it is close to public, private and charter schools. Dayton’s Bluff ensures its homebuyers are successful long-term owners with financial counseling and education through a Minnesota Homeownership Center-certified organization.

Champlain Housing Trust, Inc., (CHT) used its $8 million NMTC allocation to build 20 permanently affordable condominiums at the request of the City of Winooski to address growing concerns about gentrification and the resulting displacement of lower-income residents. The building is located at the former O’Brian Community Center, a highly distressed area with a poverty rate of 30.9%. CHT provides significant down payment assistance to make the homes affordable. In return, the buyers agree to share the appreciation of the home with CHT to enable it to provide subsidy to future low-income buyers through the community land trust. By CHT estimations, each build is estimated to benefit 14 families over the next 100 years.

Atlanta & Dekalb Counties: A scattered site acquisition and rehabilitation, ANDP acquired 133 single family homes to rehab and sell to moderate- and low-income families to stabilize struggling areas in the Atlanta metro area, including the Pittsburgh neighborhood which once had the nation’s largest foreclosure rate. At the time ANDP began its work in the area, 34% of all households earned less than $25,000 and 48% earned less than $35,000. 

Westside County: In partnership with the Westside Future Fund (WFF), Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP) developed 20 for-sale homes, funded with a $10.5 million NMTC allocation. All of the homes are clustered in the English Avenue neighborhood near two revitalized greenspaces, Cook Park and Katherine Johnston Memorial Park. This program is part of WFF’s Home on the Westside strategy, which includes the development and renovation of 800 multi-family rental units and 225 single-family homes over five years—to cultivate a diverse, mixed-income community. Over a 5-year period, ANDP was able to use NMTCs to dramatically scale up its for-sale housing production and to hire smaller contractors to develop the homes, thus enabling these subcontractors to scale up their business as well. 

Homewise, Inc., received total NMTC transactions totaling $13 million to fund El Camino Crossing, a 53 unit for-sale housing development project. The allocation funded the transformation of a vacant former mobile home park in a disinvested Santa Fe neighborhood into 40 single family homes and 13 live/work condo units. The project brought new residents to the neighborhood by providing affordable housing in a high-cost city, transforming a blighted parcel into productive use, and bolstering economic development in a distressed area of the city.

Housing Channel developed Irving Commons with a $6M allocation, creating 30 high-density homeownership opportunities within the Heritage Crossing district in Arlington, Texas, a city that lacks affordable housing for lower-wage earners. Irving Commons affordable homeownership opportunities to underserved low-income populations in Arlington, helping individuals and families build generational wealth and promoting an economically diverse community. In 2021, Housing Channel used a $5M allocation to develop a 27-home scattered site project of single-family homes in Fort Worth, TX. 

Habitat for Humanity St. Louis (HFH STL) is a not-for-profit, ecumenical housing ministry working in partnership with individuals and communities of all faiths to improve housing conditions and provide safe, decent, and affordable housing in St. Louis City and County. Since its founding in 1986, HFH STL has built and rehabbed over 400 affordable, efficient homes for more than 1,700 low-income people, making them one of the leading housing developers in St. Louis. With six successful NMTC transactions—all part of an ongoing scattered site development program—HFH STL has built and sold 113 homes with NMTC funding. Building in the selected neighborhoods expands opportunities for affordable housing in St. Louis in places where jobs are concentrated, families have easy access to public transit, and the interstate system and private-sector market-rate investments challenge the availability of affordable housing long-term. With the construction of new homes in La Saison and the Gate District, HFH STL endeavors to bring real change to areas facing poverty rates as high as 50% and unemployment rates at over 2X the national average.