Sharing Creative Financing Experience with Peers
At the invitation of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), the Authority's Executive Director presented at the National Conference & Exhibition in Baltimore, MD.
The presentation outlined the Authority’s experience using Capital Fund Financing. Together with three area housing authorities, the BHA used pooled bond financing to leverage existing resources to enhance the modernization of Crescent Court Public Housing Complex and participate in the renaissance of downtown Brockton.
The BHA contingent discussed the particulars of Capital Fund Financing to their peers at the conference, the need to innovate with private industry-type solutions, and the valuable leadership that housing authorities can provide within their cities. The BHA was selected to present these innovative ideas to their peers as this project had received the National Award of Excellence the prior year.
Understanding The Why
Understanding the efforts of City leaders in the ongoing downtown economic renaissance the BHA determined that upgrades to the Crescent Court complex was an important piece of the progress and needed to be addressed. Envisioning that outcome inspired the agency to take on the project and seek creative financing solutions. BHA Executive Director Tom Thibeault encouraged fellow housing authority managers to find their particular “why” in the context of taking on the larger mission of being housing leaders who add value to their respective cities.
Adopting new business models is a shared mission
The NAHRO conference was a great way to share our experience with a relatively new alternate funding mechanism that bridges the gap between public and private financing. As authorities around the country become more like private businesses, we know there is value in sharing what we learn and that our collective quality-of-life missions will be better for it.
New certifications for low-income housing tax credits
“With the knowledge that the capital needs of the Authority continue to grow and the traditional funds available to address these needs are shrinking, four of the Authority’s executive staff members have become certified in the administration of Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). The LIHTC program is currently the primary funding mechanism for the creation or improvement of mixed income affordable housing in the country today. This program provided the Authority another alternative to address the capital needs of our various programs.”
- From the conference speech given by Executive Director Thomas Thibeault