Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency Issues RFP for Mixed-Use Project Funding

HARRISBURG, PA—The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency issued a Request for Proposals earlier this week for the construction of new or rehabilitated mixed-use projects seeking financial support from the agency.

The deadline for proposal submission is 2 p.m. on Oct. 18. Funding for the selected projects will be provided through the Community Revitalization Fund Program, which was created as part of the Commonwealth’s fiscal year 2017/18 budget. PHFA was designated by the General Assembly to administer the program.

This year’s approved state budget authorized PHFA to sell $3 million of state tax credits and use the proceeds to make awards for the development of mixed-use properties in commercial/retail corridors in Pennsylvania that are undergoing revitalization.

“We’re looking to fund projects that not only will bring a direct benefit to communities but that also have the potential to attract additional investment to areas seeking redevelopment,” says PHFA executive director and CEO Brian A. Hudson Sr. “Our goal is to use this funding in a way that achieves the maximum benefit for communities and stimulates revitalization beyond each individual project receiving financial support.”

PHFA say that examples of eligible projects for funding include: the rehabilitation of older or under-utilized buildings for immediate re-use to support other community development goals; preparing commercial build-out and business lease space; the design of, and structural and legal conversion of, existing buildings and the provision of additional units of housing by combining uses in a single, newly constructed or renovated building.

Information about the Community Revitalization Fund RFP is posted on the PHFA website at: https://www.phfa.org/mhp/developers/loans.aspx. Interested organizations can learn more by contacting Bryce Maretzki at PHFA at (717) 780-1867 or by e-mail at bmaretzki@phfa.org.

A webinar about the RFP is planned for Sept. 17.