Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) has released the following Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) #2019-4 for the development and preservation of affordable rental housing including:

  • Large Scale Projects
  • Small Scale Projects
  • Veteran Projects (Large and Small)

You can find the NOFA here, along with related application and reference materials.

NOFA submissions are due November 4, 2019 by 4:00 p.m. and will be accepted electronically or in paper form. Late submissions will not be considered.

Any questions related to the NOFA must be submitted by email to MFNOFA@oregon.gov

Highlights of the NOFA

This consolidated NOFA offers two separate funding opportunities in a single procurement application process. The opportunities are identified either as large scale new development projects with four percent LIHTCs (“Large Scale Projects”) or as small scale projects with gap funds (“Small Scale Projects”). 

Large Scale Projects ($5 million)

The intent of the Large Scale Project offering is to engage high capacity developers in producing units where they can respond to market opportunity and achieve economies of scale using the four percent tax credit along with modest additional subsidy.

Small Scale Projects ($10 million)

The intent of the Small Scale Project offering is to give opportunity to those projects that are not large enough to use the four percent tax credit but are meeting core affordable housing needs in the state. Because the four percent LIHTCs tends to work better in urban areas, this resource allows us to more heavily target production and preservation in rural Oregon, which is another core deliverable of OHCS’ Statewide Housing Plan. In addition, addressing veteran homelessness is a key strategy in the homelessness policy priority of the Statewide Housing Plan. The funds OHCS receives from the Document Recording Fee include funding set aside ($4 million) for veterans within the rental housing program.

A “Rural Area” in this NOFA are considered to be: 

(1) Oregon communities with a population of 15,000 or less within counties that are considered Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) and outside of the Portland Urban Growth Boundary. MSA Counties include Benton, Clackamas, Columbia, Deschutes, Jackson, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington, and Yamhill; or 

(2) Other Oregon communities with a population of 40,000 or less in the balance of the state. **A community may be considered a rural area if it had been under the population threshold within the past three years of published data, and if their current population is within five percentage points of eligibility.

Contributed by: Andy Smith | Legislative Affairs Manager