Affordable housing in the resort town of Ketchum hit another roadblock last week. A project there will not receive low income housing tax credits that would have made more affordable units available.
Every year the Idaho Housing and Finance Association awards 9% federal income tax credits to low income housing projects throughout the state based on the amount of federal funding it receives. For the second year in a row, it did not allocate the credits to a Ketchum project.
This year, developers Ketchum Community Development Corp. and GMD Development applied for an affordable housing project called Bluebird Village that includes 25 apartments on the site of the current city hall. It is estimated to cost $1.1 million.
Charles Friedman who directs Ketchum Community Development Corp. said he learned of the rejection from IHFA by phone. IHFA said it has not officially announced the recipients of the tax credits for this year.
Friedman said he was told Bluebird Village did not receive the tax credits because a tie breaker between the highest scoring projects came down to the construction costs per unit, and this project was the most expensive of that grouping.
Mayor Neil Bradshaw said high building costs and land prices in the area are why the tax credit awards are even more vital.
“That’s part of the reason why we have a housing issue — is because it’s very expensive to build, so it’s very hard to build affordable housing," he said.
Blaine County has the most expensive housing market in Idaho, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a national nonprofit.
To build, the developers would lease the land from the city — effectively a land transfer. Bradshaw said making use of city-owned land is one of the few options the city has to spur affordable housing development.
Bradshaw said the lack of funds from IFHA does not impact the timeline of the project, which is set to break ground in 2021. And, he said Ketchum will apply again next August for the tax credit awards because affordable housing is a priority for the city.
“We need it desperately for the health of our city, for the health of the businesses in our city,” Bradshaw said.
In the meantime, he’ll work with the city council to brainstorm alternative funding options.
Find reporter Rachel Cohen on Twitter @racheld_cohen
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