Harkins Builders of Marriottsville, Md., received a big boost to its multi-family residential business recently, thanks to a mix of government stimulus and tax credits. Between Dec. 1, 2009 and Jan. 15, 2010, the company saw loan closings and subsequent construction starts on six projects in the Mid-Atlantic. Harkins officials point to the use of federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits, the Tax Credit Assistance Program and Section 1602 Exchange funds, which are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Many of the deals closed in order to meet end-of-the-year deadlines, according Harkins officials.
Using a combination of tax credits and rental home funds, Harkins started work on Sierra Woods, a 160-unit $6-million rehab of a garden community Columbia, Md.