New York Launches New Housing Financing Initiative

The program is aimed at supporting housing projects with 70 percent or more affordable units.

1 minute read

December 28, 2023, 5:00 AM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Brick New York City apartment buildings with fire escapes and high-rise under construction in background.

deberarr / Adobe Stock

A new financing program from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) targets ‘mostly-affordable projects’ to spur housing construction, reports Rebecca Baird-Remba in Commercial Observer.

The Mixed-Income Market Initiative, as the program is known, applies to projects with 70 percent or more affordable units and offers developers a tax abatement and city subsidy. “Projects that don’t rely on federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), a common financing mechanism for affordable housing, can apply, and the tax break must be approved by the New York City Council.”

City officials say the program should help produce more affordable housing in more expensive neighborhoods, “where a small number of market-rate units could cross subsidize the lower-income affordable ones.” Projects are required to reserve 15 percent of units for people exiting the shelter system and 25 percent or more for ‘extremely low-income’ residents.

Tuesday, December 26, 2023 in Commercial Observer

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