The Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) is the County’s main financing program for affordable housing development. Since its creation in 1988, AHIF has helped to create the majority of Arlington’s nearly 7,500 approved affordable rental units that benefit low- and moderate-income households. In conjunction with the Affordable Housing Ordinance, this revolving loan fund provides incentives for developers through low-interest loans for new construction, acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable housing. Since the inception of the AHIF program, the County has originated more than $316 million in loans for affordable units.
A total of $14.3 million has been allocated for AHIF for Fiscal Year 2019. The fund is comprised of local and federal dollars and is also supported by loan repayments and developer contributions. For most projects, every $1 of County loan funds can leverage $3 in private funds. The AHIF is often used in combination with other Affordable Housing Financing Programs.
Arlington County Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Federal and Local Loan Funds for FY 2019
Arlington County is implementing a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for FY 2019 (July 2018 – June 2019) Federal and local loan funds. Only projects that are eligible for use of Federal funds will be able to utilize any additional local funds that may be available. Applications that do not propose feasible use of Federal funds will not be eligible for local funding through this NOFA process.
Click here to learn more about how to manage and submit a ZoomGrants application.
FY 2019 Project Funding Scoring Guidance
The FY 2019 NOFA for Federal and Local Loan Funds Scoring Guidance will guide the review and evaluation of loan requests and form the basis for the FY 2019 pipeline funding recommendations to the County Manager and County Board.
Eligibility
Staff will accept and consider proposals from non-profit or for-profit qualified applicants that meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Applicant has owned or developed at least one development that contains committed affordable (CAF), income-restricted, or market rate housing units that have been placed in service. If applying for Low Income Housing Tax Credits, applicants will need to meet VHDA eligibility requirements.
- The Federal and local loan funds must be used for rental units affordable up to 80% Area Median Income (AMI) as published by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Washington, DC Metropolitan Statistical Area, adjusted for household size. If the development is mixed-income, Federal and local loan funds will be applied only to the affordable portion of the development.
- The CAF units must remain committed affordable for no less than 30 years.
- Applicants that propose the use of Federal CDBG and HOME funds must meet certain timeliness requirements (see Application for more details)
How to Apply for FY 2019
The County will accept applications completed and submitted through the ZoomGrants application software. The County will not accept any other form of submission. Applications are due June 15, 2018 by 5PM.
Out-of-Cycle Applications
Out-of-cycle applications will be considered for time-sensitive 3rd party acquisitions on a case-by-case basis. “Time-sensitive 3rd party acquisition” means the development is currently listed on the open market or will be listed on the open market in the immediate future. If the applicant is applying to be considered out-of-cycle please e-mail a letter to Melissa Cohen at mcohen@arlingtonva.us with information about the project (location, units, price) and documentation of time-sensitivity (listing or letter from owner). Describe why an in-cycle application would preclude the ability to purchase. DO NOT fill out ZoomGrants application unless advised by Arlington County staff to do so.
Questions?
ZoomGrants technical support staff can help with technical questions or general inquiries about the system. Please contact: questions@zoomgrants.com.
All questions related to the application content must be submitted in writing to mcohen@arlingtonva.us or cjones1@arlingtonva.us. All questions and answers will be posted to this website.
FY 2019 Q&A: Read the Questions and Answers document that contains answers to the questions staff has received thus far during the FY 2019 NOFA application period.
FY 2018 Q&A: Read the Questions and Answers document that contains answers to the questions staff received during the FY 2018 NOFA application period.