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Affordable Multi-Family Housing Loan Program
Purpose of the Program
The program has been established to provide gap financing to affordable multi-family rental housing projects to encourage private investment to address the unmet rental housing needs of Loudoun County residents and workers. Loans will only be provided to finance units in excess of the minimum number of Affordable Dwelling Units necessary to satisfy the requirements of Article 7 of the Zoning Ordinance and may include:
- Multi-family affordable rental housing units developed pursuant to the Virginia Housing Development Authority Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program or a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) 221(d)(4) Affordable mortgage insurance program that meets the definition of Affordable Housing included in the HUD Multifamily Accelerated Processing Guide, Revised December 18, 2020, as amended, from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing - FHA Commissioner, as applicable, or
- Multi-family affordable rental housing with units for the benefit of households within the income and the rental limits defined by Chapter 1450 of the County Ordinances.
Eligible Uses
The program will aid in funding the construction, rehabilitation and/or preservation of affordable rental housing in the county, at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors to include:
- Construction of affordable multi-family rental units.
- Real estate acquisition directly linked to preservation, construction or rehabilitation/renovation of affordable multi-family housing rental units.
- Rehabilitation/Renovation of multi-family housing rental affordable units.
Loan Application Review Criteria
Funding decisions will be made based on the merits of each loan application as graded in accordance with the Affordable Multi-family Housing Loan Program Guidelines and Scoring Criteria (PDF)
Staff will be reviewing the guidelines and the loan review process over the next several months and may take changes to the Board of Supervisors for approval. To stay updated on possible changes as well as program information and deadlines, please e-mail Housing Finance Project Manager Janice Chan to join the mailing list.
Loans may be approved by the Board for less than the full amount requested in the loan application. Highest consideration will be given to loan applications that demonstrate that the project will rehabilitate, construct and/or preserve the greatest number and highest quality of affordable units to serve county households at the greatest need in the most economically sustainable way.
- Since 2017, the loan program has provided eight loans to support the development of 762 rental apartments, affordable to households with incomes up to at 60% of Area Median Income (AMI) ($91,300 for a family of four in 2023) or less (HUD effective May 15, 2023).
- Three projects are now built and occupied by residents:
- Stone Springs opened in the fall of 2019.
- Ashburn Chase opened in October 2020.
- Loudoun View Senior opened in October 2022.
- Two projects (Waxpool Apartments and Poland Hill) are under construction.
- Three projects (Tuscarora Crossing - Phases 1 and 2, and Avonlea Senior Apartments) are in development.
- How should the scoring criteria be applied to a hybrid LIHTC deal? Do the requirements apply to the 9% and 4% portion separately or for the entirety of the development?
- When should developers apply for project-based-vouchers (PBVs) if they are planning to include PBVs in their LIHTC 9% application?
- Is there a specific definition of “entry-level worker unit”?
- Does a loan program application require the site to be appropriately zoned at the time of application?
- Does the Loudoun County loan program require Davis Bacon wages?
- How are partial points awarded when scoring a Housing Fund application?
- In Section 1 of the Scoring Criteria, must each of the percentages of units be unique? For instance, can the 20% for seniors also be the 20% for disabled units, or must they be separate units?
- What does the term “Project Manager” refer to in the Application Requirements list?
- Are there any restrictions or scoring considerations related to a property developed on a long-term ground lease rather than fee simple ownership of the site?
- Are hard copy applications required?
- Is there a requirement that proposed projects must be located within a specified distance of an existing bus stop or commercial center?
- Must Universal Design standards apply to all units and common spaces within the project to earn the full 5 points?
- Can you expand on the affordability period and are points given on a sliding scale?
- For sources of funds, does a Letter of Intent (LOI) proving tax credit pricing and debt serve as enough proof?
- Can you give examples of the public participation requirement and how civic organizations should be included?
- For site control documentation, is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) enough?
- For the pro forma, is there a template or can applicants provide their own Excel document?
- Will there be a recording or presentation materials made available from the August pre-application meeting?
Completed or In-Progress Multi-Family Loan Projects
| Development | Award Year | Status | Loan Amount | Total Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Springs | 2017 | Open | $3 million | 128 |
| Ashburn Chase | 2018 | Open | $2.46 million | 96 |
| Loudoun View Senior | 2019 | Open | $5.225 million | 98 |
| Poland Hill | 2019 | Under Construction | $1.8 million | 78 |
| Tuscarora Crossing, Phase 1 | 2020 | In Development | $5.65 million | 90 |
| Tuscarora Crossing, Phase 2 | 2021 | In Development | $4.5 million | 90 |
| Waxpool Apartments | 2022 | Under Construction | $2.5 million | 52 |
| Avonlea Senior | 2023 | In Development | $6.012 million | 130 |