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Only 2 of Chicago LIHTC projects are under construction 30 months on
Through mid-September, just two of 13 projects awarded Chicago’s 2023 low-income housing tax credits had closed and started construction, 30 months after the March 2024 awards.
As Chicago’s apartment construction pipeline slows and rents rise, low-income housing tax credit projects remain a key potential source of affordable units, but progress has been slow. According to records from the Chicago Department of Housing obtained by Bisnow, as of mid-September only two of 13 projects allocated credits in Chicago’s 2023 LIHTC funding round had closed and were under construction.
The funding awards were announced in March 2024, meaning the deals that had started construction were at least 30 months into the process, based on the reporting timeline cited by Bisnow. Bisnow also notes that it has been difficult for Chicago officials to quantify how much LIHTC investment is actually on track to be built.
Bisnow points to the LIHTC program’s long role in affordable housing finance since it became law in 1986, saying it has helped build more than 3.9 million housing units through 2024. The outlet adds that a Housing Action Illinois report found nearly 440,000 low-income renter households in Illinois, but just over 150,000 affordable rental homes.