Governor Deval Patrick's Five Year Capital Investment Plan FY2011 - FY2015

Governor's Capital Investment Plan FY2011

Housing


State spending for housing in Massachusetts includes both state-supported public housing and private affordable housing development.  The Commonwealth’s state-supported public housing is a unique and valuable resource, consisting of more than 49,092 units in 242 cities and towns.  The state’s public housing portfolio supports some of our most vulnerable citizens and includes more than 32,000 units of housing for the elderly, 12,200 units preferenced for veterans, 3,100 very low-density scattered site family housing, and 1,800 units primarily for disabled clients of DDS and DMH -- in all, providing homes for more than 80,000 residents.  The portfolio suffered neglect for the 16 years prior to this Administration assuming office, resulting in an inherited backlog of expired building systems and significant components that need replacement.  As a way to offset the negative effects of the high costs of private housing in Massachusetts, both for renters and owners, the Commonwealth’s private affordable housing development programs use a variety of financing resources, ranging from grants and loans to tax-credits, to support the production and preservation of affordable private housing.

The following graph reflects the Administration’s estimated capital investment in affordable housing over the next five years, as compared to projected fiscal year 2010 affordable housing-related capital spending.

This bar graph show the Housing: all sources of funds between the years of FY10 through FY15.

FY11 Highlights

  • $109.5 million (including $5 million through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and $19.5 million in ARRA funds through the Weatherization Assistance Program) invested in public housing.  Continuing Governor Patrick’s commitment to public housing, this is over a 99% increase in funding for public housing compared to funding levels prior to the Patrick-Murray Administration.  In addition to these investments through the state capital budget, the Administration intends to continue to leverage affordable housing tax credits to increase investment in public housing.

  • $81 million in total spending for various private affordable housing development programs, including $35 million into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (which is net of the $5 million in the Fund statutorily dedicated to public housing), one of the Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) most flexible funding sources and a key means of supporting affordable home ownership and affordable rental housing.

In addition to direct investments, the Commonwealth has been awarded $300 million of ARRA funds for capital investments to support affordable housing under a few different programs. 

  • In fiscal year 2011, DHCD expects to spend $148 million of these ARRA funds.  Of this amount, $80 million in the aggregate will be funded from (i) the Tax Credit Exchange Program to exchange unused 2008 low-income housing tax credits and up to 40% of 2009 tax credits for affordable housing production subsidies and (ii) the Tax Credit Assistance Program to restart low-income housing tax credit projects that were stalled due to the financial crisis.

  • Through the Weatherization Assistance Program, $60 million will be expended in fiscal year 2011 to aid homeowners and local groups’ efforts to make homes more energy-efficient, including investments in the Commonwealth’s public housing stock referenced above.  In addition to these ARRA amounts for affordable housing reflected in this Housing investment category, is the Community Investment category includes $7.5 million of ARRA funds in fiscal year 2011 from the Community Development Block Grant program to support housing-related community development activities.


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