"Private Sector Partnerships: Investing in Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization" explores both the need for and momentum of public-private partnerships in addressing the nation's housing and community development goals.
MPC, the State of Illinois, and the Regional
Employer-Assisted Collaboration for Housing (REACH) are featured in Private Sector
Partnerships: Investing in Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization
,
a new publication of the
National Housing Conference(NHC). In its press release , NHC describes the increasing popularity
and success of employer-assisted housing
, comparing its potential as an employee benefit
to healthcare.
This is a critical development given NHC's recent
analysis of nationwide homeownership trends. This
report points out that
despite overall improvements since 1978 (homeownership increased nationwide from 65.2 percent
to 68 percent),working families(defined as employed households with
children earning less than 120 percent of Area Median Income)
have actually experienced a decrease in homeownership rates-- from 62.5 percent to
56.6 percent.
Together, these reports underscore the value of current
efforts to expand incentives available to Illinois employers interested in
investing in housing solutions for the local workforce, namely the matching funds available via a pilot program in northeastern
Illinois and the tax
credits
scheduled to sunset in 2006.
On Friday, June 18th, the board of
the Illinois Housing Development Authority voted to expand the matching fund program statewide. Stay tuned for
news on extending the tax credit program.