All-in for Affordable ousing: Leadership Investments by the City of Savannah

The Housing Savannah Action Plan set ambitious goals for overall investment in affordable housing – $100M annually by 2032. To kickstart the initiative, the City of Savannah has provided over $9M in funding through the Savannah Affordable Housing Fund in the past eighteen months. CHSA is able to leverage investments from the SAHF to access public and private capital to fund affordable housing – a total of $26.24M to date.

Their historic commitment is sparking more investments by others! Opportunities include Equity Equivalent (EQ2) investments from financial institutions.

EQ2 is a long-term deeply subordinated loan with features that make it function like equity.

Of course, donations and loans also increase CHSA's ability to provide capital to create or renovate affordable housing. Investments and donations from banks qualify for Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) credit.

Mayor Van Johnson II and the current members of the City Council are to be commended for their leadership commitment to the Housing Savannah Action Plan. The results are proving that when a community comes together with dedicated leadership, our potential is limitless.

LINKS: Housing Savannah Action Plan = https://www.savannahga.gov/3495/Housing-Savannah-Action-Plan

EQ2 investments = https://www.cdfifund.gov/sites/cdfi/files/documents/eq2-overview-by-opportunity-finance-network.pdf