Today the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced that it is awarding $32.5 million in new grants and low-cost loans to 12 states and cities to help preserve more than 70,000 affordable rental homes for families across the nation. This significant investment is part of the Foundation’s new Window of Opportunity initiative, a $150 million, 10-year effort to preserve affordable rental homes. Selected from among 40 states and local governments, the recipients of these prestigious awards will use the funds from the Foundation – $9.5 million in grants and an additional $23 million in low-interest loans – to, among other activities, help preserve subsidized rental homes at-risk of being lost, help different levels of government coordinate their efforts in order to ensure the preservation of affordable rental homes, and leverage an additional $147 million in funding.
Please join us in congratulating the new grantees – Denver, Florida, Iowa, Los Angeles, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont – who are receiving funding from the Foundation. In light of the foreclosure crisis and the ever-growing demand for rental housing, these jurisdictions are to be commended for their forward-thinking approaches to preserving rental housing for generations to come. From rural rental housing preservation for families in Iowa to senior rental housing preservation in Florida, each jurisdiction will use the money to uniquely benefit its residents, families and communities.
Given the fact that it generally costs twice as much to build an affordable home as to preserve one, efforts by these states and cities to preserve affordable housing are critically important and serve as a model for other jurisdictions nationwide.
To learn more about the specific projects that will be implemented by each of the grantees, please click on the individual state and city names below:
In addition, NHC will partner with the Foundation to host a rental preservation symposium on March 17 in Washington, DC, which will also highlight the innovative work of these new grantees. The symposium is entitled “Partners in Innovation: A Dialogue on Federal, State, and Local Rental Preservation Solutions” and will feature a series of plenary discussions with panelists from each of the 12 cities and states, followed by a reception. Keynote speakers at the symposium will include Jonathan Fanton, president of the Foundation, and Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) will give remarks at the reception. Participation in this symposium is by invitation only. For more information, please contact NHC Director of State and Local Initiatives Lynn Ross.
To learn more about today’s MacArthur Foundation announcement, please Click Here.