Sustainable Developer Program Overview
The Sustainable Developer Program was developed to provide tax-exempt bond financing, property tax exemptions, and green financing to increase the supply of sustainable, resilient, and affordable housing in New Orleans. FNO’s Sustainable Developer products provide the City of New Orleans and Finance New Orleans with greater local control over affordable housing development, in alignment with FNO’s mission to “improve the quality of life in the city of New Orleans by investing in affordable housing, economic development, and climate resiliency projects that produce quality jobs and wealth for residents.”
Learn more about our financial products for multifamily developers below!
Affordable Housing Ad Valorum PILOTS
Eligibility: Finance New Orleans offers standard PILOT pricing for projects that meet the following criteria.
- Affordable Housing PILOT Eligibility Requirements:
- Applies to new development of multifamily rental housing and mixed-use developments OR rehabilitation or adaptive reuse of existing structures to create new rental housing units
- Rental projects providing at least 40% of residential units at a rate affordable to households earning 80% AMI or less
- Average tenant incomes for rent- and income- restricted units may not exceed 60% AMI
- Project must be committed to the following standards:
- Achieve energy efficiency and resilience standards above and beyond code requirements
- Make best faith efforts to utilize 35% DBE participation
2. Affordable Housing Preservation PILOT Eligibility Requirements:
- Applies to currently operating multifamily rental developments
- Rental projects providing at least 40% of all units at a rental rate affordable to households earning 80% AMI or less
- Project must be committed to the following standards:
- Maintaining the same or deeper level of affordability for an additional 40 years, or the duration of the PILOT lease
- Invest in substantial improvements to the property resulting in improved energy efficiency and resilience.
- Make best effort to reduce displacement as a result of improvements, all eligible tenants leasing on the premise shall have right of first refusal to units placed in service after improvements
- Make best faith efforts to utilize 35% DBE participation
Other eligible project types and variances:
Finance New Orleans (FNO) is developing new policy and pricing for Middle Market Housing and Inclusionary Zoning. Projects that meet these definitions may be required to obtain a PILOT through a Special Pricing variance.
Special Pricing Variances: Projects seeking a PILOT that do not meet the standards outlined in FNO policy must pass a “but for” test performed by a third-party consultant that determines that the project would not be financially feasible without a PILOT. Analysis may include a 40-year pro-forma analysis to determine cost-reasonableness for PILOT requests in the context of level of affordability and overall public benefit provided. The consultant may be asked to provide recommendations for appropriate PILOT pricing based on analysis of project risk, market trends, operating expenses, developer’s ability to make contributions to the financing, construction budget, and other factors FNO has the sole discretion to select the firm that conducts the analysis, but the cost of the “but for” analysis shall be the responsibility of the developer seeking the PILOT.
PILOT Pricing
Want to test out the Affordable Multifamily Development PILOT for your development?
Download this form and follow the instructions at the top of the page.
Note: This tool is for informational purposes only. FNO PILOT Policy will be considered based on a complete and accurate application submission provided by the developer, which must be reviewed by staff, vetted by the Underwriting Committee, and approved by the FNO Board of Trustees.
Affordable Housing Sales Tax PILOT
- Submit a complete application for an Ad Valorum PILOT to Finance New Orleans
- Only construction materials and equipment not yet purchased are eligible for the abatement for a limited period of time
- Only projects that have not yet reached financial closing shall be eligible for a sales tax PILOT with FNO
Eligibility:
- Small Developers: Projects whose lead developer or development firm is local to New Orleans with total net worth of less than $1 million based on financial audits provided with application and has a portfolio of 50 or fewer units.
- Projects with Tax-Exempt Bonds: Projects NOT funded with Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity or LIHTC bonds.
- Projects providing rigorous level of energy self-sufficiency and climate resilience, such as net zero energy
Request Information or Submit A Project
Affordable Housing Monitoring Plan
This Monitoring Plan describes Finance New Orleans’ (FNO) approach to ensuring ongoing compliance with affordability, occupancy, and property quality standards for subsidized affordable rental developments. Developers who enter into a written Agreement with FNO to develop affordable rental housing should expect to follow the requirements and oversight processes outlined in this plan. Because FNO may use different funding sources—each with its own compliance obligations—FNO has the discretion to apply and enforce various monitoring mechanisms to ensure that the public benefits promised in exchange for public subsidy are achieved.
While this Monitoring Plan provides the overall framework, each development may receive an individual, project-specific monitoring plan that aligns with and reflects the terms of its written Agreement with FNO. Specific compliance requirements will be detailed in those individual Agreements rather than in this general plan.
Download and review the monitoring plan to understand compliance responsibilities
