Overshadowed by these high profile issues, though, are pending issues that industry advocates are hoping will receive favorable treatment as well. One is the refunding of the New Market Tax Credits, which is similar in concept to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit profile. The subsidy program has strong bi-partisan support on the Hill, says Karen M. Williams, attorney and shareholder at Lane Powell. The only question remains is, at what level? Another measure, however, the Realistic Roofing Tax Treatment Act, is very unlikely to move forward this year, according to Jason Todd, director legislative and regulatory affairs for the Building Owners and Managers International here.

Established in 2000, NMTC is a public-private federal program that provides funds to support commercial, industrial and retail real estate projects in low-income areas. Supporters of the program are hoping for a higher allocation this time around as funding that was originally provided was vastly oversubscribed by users, Williams says.

Despite that, awareness of the program is quite low, she says, because it is still rather new and because it tends to be confused with an affordable-housing initiative. Also, it has a far broader reach than some developers might have realized. For instance, Williams says, 40% of the census track of the Portland, OR-area is a candidate for the subsidy. "The early adopters in the development community are finding that NMTC delivers an important competitive edge."