The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) recently awarded $1.1 million in tax credits to a proposal submitted by Biggs TC Development, based in Decatur, Indiana. The award is part of $13.9 million in Rental Housing Tax Credit allocations announced by the IHCDA on February 23, 2017.

Biggs’ application outlined construction of 89 housing units serving low- to moderate-income individuals and families. Sixty-four of the units will be located in Decatur while 25 of the units will be located in the Renaissance Pointe neighborhood in Fort Wayne. The 25 units will be single-family lease-to-purchase homes similar to others Biggs has built in the neighborhood.

"The City of Fort Wayne is pleased that the IHCDA awarded housing tax credits to Biggs TC Development,” said Greg Leatherman, City of Fort Wayne Community Development Director. “The 25 new homes Biggs plans on building will be an excellent addition to the Renaissance Pointe neighborhood and will allow families to build credit and eventually own their own home. The developer will use 25 properties that the City’s Office of Housing and Neighborhood Services purchased through the Blight Elimination Program. Urban infill development is the highest priority for these BEP properties, and their redevelopment will greatly benefit the Renaissance Pointe neighborhood and its residents. We look forward to working with Biggs TC Development."

Forty-eight of the housing units in Decatur will be part of the rehabilitation of the Country Brook Apartments, originally built in 1974. The remaining 16 units will be part of an adaptive-reuse of an existing downtown Decatur building, which will be converted into artists’ lofts.

IHCDA administers and manages the federal credits, which provide incentives for private developers to further the affordable housing choices available throughout Indiana. The 2017 RHTC allocation totaling $13.9 million will fund over 700 housing units. With 62 applications received in November 2016 requesting over $50.6 million in federal rental housing tax credits and $23.2 million in supplemental IHCDA funding, the RHTC program is highly competitive.