May 21, 2020 | From City of New Orleans
City of New Orleans, FANO, LHC Partner to Incentivize Affordable and Resilient Housing Developments
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans City Council today approved an agreement between the City of New Orleans, Finance Authority of New Orleans (FANO), and Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) that empowers FANO to offer financial incentives to builders of affordable and climate resilient housing. The cooperative endeavor agreement allows FANO to pair its multifamily revenue bonds with LHC’s non-competitive 4 percent tax credits. These credits provide tax incentives that aim to increase the availability of affordable rental housing.
"New Orleans is facing an affordability crisis that is impacting the fabric of our community, and has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This partnership between the City, the Finance Authority of New Orleans and the Louisiana Housing Corporation will allow us to accomplish our shared goals by creating a more innovative and collaborative entity that can better create affordable housing options,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “With this, we are continuing to demonstrate resourceful civic leadership that is working towards a common solution to improve the quality of life for our people."
“The foundation of our affordable housing ecosystem is the availability of a variety of effective tools to solve a variety of challenges. Unlocking this important tool for FANO will give us greater local control to solve our local problems while maintaining critical partnerships with our state officials,” said Marjorianna Willman, Director of the Office of Housing Policy and Community Development for the City of New Orleans.
“Cooperation among government agencies is needed to address the large amount of demand for affordable and climate resilient housing. This agreement is an example of the type of collaboration required to deliver more value to the community,” said Damon Burns, President and CEO of FANO.
“This is a unique partnership between the State and municipal entities," said LHC Executive Director E. Keith Cunningham, Jr. “Housing is a local concern, and having local partners ensures that we get it right. This endeavor gives us the ability to make an even greater impact within the City of New Orleans.”
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