Tax Credit Advisor – November 2014 – Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) is testing a new initiative to fund the renovation and retrofit of an older senior rental property in its portfolio to make it more supportive and user-friendly for the existing elderly residents so that they can better “age in place.” The initiative is part of a broader Request For Applications (RFA) issued by the corporation in late August, which solicited applications by September 18 for State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) program gap funds, tax-exempt financing, and 4% federal low-income  housing tax credits to finance the construction or acquisition/rehabilitation of affordable multifamily rental housing properties for families and seniors. Two applications were submitted for Florida Housing’s “Elderly Transformation Preservation” initiative, for proposed projects in Jacksonville and New Port Richey, Fla. Florida Housing’s Policy Director Nancy Muller anticipated that the Corporation’s Board of Directors will approve funding for up to one of these at its next meeting on October 30. “We want to start small in this pilot and see what we learn,” she says. The idea behind the initiative is that many older senior properties financed by Florida Housing are now occupied by numerous aged and frail residents, but lack the physical characteristics and robust services to enable these individuals to continue living where they are independently for an extended period. But with physical modifications to the properties and apartments and added services and other supports, aging residents should be able to stay in place longer and avoid premature moves to an assisted living facility or nursing home.