Governments across the U.S. have used their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to address their affordable and supportive housing goals. Housing is a critical issue in many communities, exacerbated by the pandemic, rising construction costs, and interest rates. Thanks to the guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury and an Affordable Housing How-To Guide published jointly with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, governments have had more direction in investing their ARPA funds in housing projects successfully. With the ARPA obligation deadline approaching at the end of 2024, governments are thinking about what comes next. Guidehouse has supported over 80 state and local clients with approaches to use federal funds for housing programs and projects, including Travis County, Texas, and Baltimore County, Maryland. Travis County invested $110 million of ARPA State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to build 2,000 units of supportive housing, while Baltimore County invested $12M of ARPA SLFRF funds to create a new Housing Opportunities Fund. This session will explore how Guidehouse partnered with clients Baltimore and Travis Counties to leverage their ARPA funds for housing. It will also explore approaches post-ARPA for accessing federal funds from the IRA for housing, as well as other methods to blending, braiding, and leveraging federal, state, and local funds for affordable housing projects, programs, and planning.
ARPA and Beyond: Perspectives on Using Federal Funding to Address Affordable Housing Challenges
