The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) today (Thursday), announced that it has awarded approximately $20 million in Workforce Housing tax credits, reaching the cap for FY15. The IEDA opened the application for the Workforce Housing Tax Credit Program (WHTC), established by House File 2448, on February 1, 2015. The program makes state tax incentives available to developers building or rehabilitating housing in Iowa. Included among the FY2015 Funded Projects was the Linden Place Apartments in Council Bluffs, which received $509,030 in tax credits.

To be eligible for the program, projects must meet one of four criteria: Housing development located on a grayfield or brownfield site; Repair or rehabilitation of dilapidated housing stock; Upper story housing development; New construction in a greenfield (a community with demonstrated workforce housing needs).

With the funding available in FY15, IEDA was able to award 37 projects around the state. The tax credits are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible projects. Additional tax credits are expected to be available in FY16. Applications may continue to be submitted through Iowagrants.gov.

IEDA will continue to review applications in the order in which they are received. Applications already in the queue will be placed on a waiting list that will be revisited once additional tax credits become available.