Category: Finance & Public Private Partnership Tools
Student Corner: Equity with a Twist: The Low Income Investment Fund’s Social Capital Tool
The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) is a community development financial institution (CDFI) dedicated to providing innovative capital solutions that create a bridge between private capital markets and low income neighborhoods. The organization strives to create pathways for investors in projects t … Read more
Catawba County’s Innovative Water Service Partnership Model
It seems like almost everyone, including regulators and utility organizations, recognize the benefits and need for expanded partnerships and collaboration in the water and wastewater sector. Small towns are finding it difficult to meet their growing infrastructure and regulatory needs and are talkin … Read more
Legal and Business Reasons Why Downtown Development Programs Should Involve Secured Loans—Not Grants
Dr. Blaine Beeper is a retired hospital administrator who was recently elected to council in the Town of Bushwood. Dr. Beeper thinks he has figured out how to jumpstart revitalization of Bushwood’s historic downtown. He proposes for the Town to offer annual cash grants to any owner who redevelops a … Read more
Student Corner: Federal Housing Finance Options for Mixed-Use Development
Federal housing finance policies and programs exist to provide financing for the acquisition and construction of homes and boost investment in the housing industry. While a variety of housing loan products exist, a report released by the Regional Plan Association (RPA) in February 2016 highlighted t … Read more
System Development Fees are the New Impact Fees
As detailed here, in 2016, the North Carolina Supreme Court held that municipalities (and by analogy counties) lack the statutory authority to impose certain upfront charges for water and sewer services. Upfront charges are charges imposed on new or existing development before a property parcel is a … Read more
Legislative Changes Affecting the Tools in the North Carolina Water Finance Toolbox
Water and wastewater utilities have a wide range of capital project needs. Most utilities have existing assets (treatment plants, water storage tanks, underground lines) that have reached the end of their functional life and need significant rehabilitation and replacement investment. Some utilities … Read more
Student Corner: 4% LIHTC Use in North Carolina’s Triangle Region
A Brief Introduction to the 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Development of low-income housing in the United States continues to be a challenge for local governments, affordable housing developers, and policy advocates. Institutional, market, and financing obstacles are all barriers to increasing th … Read more
Our Shared Fate
Our Shared Fate was the title of an Aspen Institute report from 2008, which argued that bridging the rural-urban divide created new opportunities for prosperity and equity. A Brookings Institution report published in the previous year, made the case that rural and urban areas are interdependent and … Read more
Conveyance of property in a public-private partnership for a “downtown development project”
Downtowns across America are experiencing a renaissance. Population growth in downtowns has outpaced growth in the broader regions in which those downtowns are located. North Carolina downtowns are likewise experiencing record growth. To capitalize on this renewed interest in downtowns, private deve … Read more
Fighting Blight with Property Tax Bills
How can a city more effectively fight blight—vacant, abandoned, and dilapidated housing? The city of High Point tried to find some answers last year with help from the Center for Community Progress and the UNC School of Government. My economic development expert-colleague Tyler Mulligan and I were h … Read more