A Powerful Pause

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3 min read

Sometimes you need to take a step back and look at the big picture.

This is that moment – and this issue of the magazine is where we do it.

With the talk and action about tax reform legislation heating up in Washington, it’s an opportune time to highlight the benefits of our current federal tax credit programs that produce and preserve affordable rental housing, foster the rehabilitation of historic building, and promote economic development, including in our nation’s low-income communities.

We may at times take these programs for granted. But we shouldn’t. We should talk about what they have done – and are still doing. And point out where we as a country and a society would be if they had never existed.

In this issue, our own wise sage David A. Smith of Recap Real Estate Advisors elaborates in depth about the many benefits that have been generated by the low-income housing tax credit program and about what we would be missing if Congress hadn’t decided to approve this new program as part of the Tax Reform Act back on that hot steamy summer day in 1986. (“A Different World,” p. 12)

In a similar vein, we highlight some of the heady statistics demonstrating the substantial accomplishments to date of the low-income housing, historic rehabilitation, and new markets tax credit programs – handy figures for the tax reform battles ahead. (“The Power of Tax Credits,” p. 16) And we report on recent Congressional goings-on about tax reform, including testimony in support of the housing credit. (“Crunch Time,” p. 8)

Among projects made possible by the LIHTC program is The Greens at Logan Field, an affordable new rental development by Enterprise Homes, which found the site by carving out a corner of an underutilized strip shopping center in suburban Baltimore. (“Creative Urban Infill,” p. 4)

We also report about an overlooked niche – two real estate investment trusts, or REITs, providing capital to support the long-term preservation of existing properties as affordable rental housing. One of these, a start-up, aims to give a dozen participating nonprofit sponsors a boost in competing to acquire properties in today’s highly competitive markets. (“A Small World,” p. 38)

For sure, our tax credit programs have changed America for the better – and still are, each and every day. Taking a moment to recognize this, and then sharing stories about these tax credit developments with others, provides the perspective and motivation for action that might just help us muddle through the stormy weeks ahead as we seek to preserve these programs for the future.