2016 Housing Finance & Development Update #34

June 6, 2016

Housing Finance & Development

Email Updates

Competitive Round Questions

DCA has received several last minute questions in regard to two issues. The following is DCA's response to those questions.

Long Term Ground Leases

There have been several post Q&A questions raised regarding the provision on long term ground leases that provides:

"Two (2) points will be awarded for projects receiving a long-term ground lease (no less than 45-year) for nominal consideration and no other land costs for the entire property. DCA will define nominal in this section as at or below ten (10) dollars per year. Leases can only be considered for points under this category and not under any other scoring category."

As previously stated, the language of the QAP does not limit the awarding of these points to non related parties. While the purchase of land can be made by a Project Team member including a Syndicator, the cost of the land cannot have a financial impact on the overall project costs. The QAP states that in order to receive these points "no other land costs" outside of the nominal lease fee will be included. This means that applications that structure projects to conceal the cost of land in the overall development financing structure will not receive these points. The failure to disclose such an arrangement may also result in the non selection of the Application. A nonexclusive list of examples considered to conceal land costs include structures that inflate construction costs to cover land costs, agreements for tiered pricing of credits designed to cover land costs (a lower market credit price so that a syndicator is paid for the purchase of land for proceeds typically used to cover development costs) and loans to cover the purchase price of the land that are collateralized with the property. DCA may request additional certifications from all Project Team members to ensure that only bona fide leases that do not include costs for land receive these points.

Site Info and Conceptual Plan, Item 3. Finished floor and building elevations of each building

DCA has received several questions regarding how building elevations should be reflected in the conceptual Plan.

Minimally a conceptual elevation rendering or computer generated image of each building type should be submitted with the conceptual site plan.

The elevation should be submitted on 11" X 17" size and be included in the Site Information and Conceptual Site Development Plan Folder.

EmPowered to Serve

Enterprise Community Partners has announced a health and housing partnership with the American Heart Association to offer EmPowered to Serve (ETS) to affordable housing partners and their residents in Greater Atlanta. Services implemented at your property from the Empowered to Serve training modules and activities would qualify under the DCA required services criteria as outlined in the QAP.

Empowered to Serve is a train the trainer model for property staff and residents to become a trainer in health awareness and activities, preparing them to then deliver training modules to other residents. The curriculum focuses on promoting physical activity, increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and reducing tobacco use in the environment. The 13 module heart-healthy lessons, leaders' guides and power point slides are all free resources that can be accessed on-line. Please click here to learn more about EmPowered to learn more about EmPowered to Serve and view program resources.

You're invited to attend an in person training on July 12th to learn more about this exciting opportunity for your residents as well as why housing matters to the American Heart Association.

Click here to register for the July 12th event: 8:30 AM - 2 PM

Good Samaritan Health Center

1015 Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy NW

Atlanta, GA 30318

Upcoming Events and Deadlines

June 9, 2016
9% Application Deadline

July 4, 2016
State Holiday - DCA Offices Closed

July 8, 2016
Notification of Delayed Financing Awards Deadline

July 22, 2016
Alternate Financing Deadline

August 31, 2016
Evidence of 8 Step Process Completion Deadline

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs is committed to providing all persons with equal access to its services, programs, activities, education and employment regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.

For reasonable accommodations or alternate format information please contact Sandy Wyckoff at 404-679-0670 or email sandy.wyckoff@dca.ga.gov.