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71 July 2024 J O U R N A L individuals and families, based on aver- age community size, could benefit from the program within the next five years. This Manufactured Home Communities program leverages FHA's Multifamily 223(f ) program, which will now provide permanent mortgage financing for manufactured home communities that may have previously been ineligible, and for previously ineligible manufactured home cooperative borrowers to be eligi- ble to acquire and obtain financing for existing communities. "Today's announcement is an important first step for a program that we hope will provide a meaningful path to both affordable manufactured home community creation and preservation," Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifam- ily Housing Programs Ethan Handelman said. "As we progress with the program implementation, we will continue to as- sess both its scope and entity eligibility." Enriching Affordable Housing Options "Manufactured home communities offer a stable and affordable housing option for many families. Today, HUD is providing new resources for preserving and revitalizing these communities by providing FHA-insured financing to mis- sion-focused groups to buy or refinance and revitalize manufactured homes," HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman said. "This is just one of many ways HUD is empowering residents, industry leaders, and governments to expand access to innovative, affordable housing solutions, particularly in rural communities." Through the FHA's latest Mortgagee Letter, mission-focused entities such as resident-owned manufactured home communities, cooperatives, nonprofit entities and consortia, state and local governments, community development financing institutions, and Indian Tribes, will be eligible to use this program to finance the acquisition of or to improve existing communities, including making updates to common area resources and helping to maintain rent affordability. The new Manufactured Home Com- munity loan product provides an alter- native to the purchase of these commu- nities by private equity funds and similar financial interests, whose track record reportedly includes unaffordable rent increases, failure to invest in community infrastructure, and regulations that don't respect the community's culture. Easing Roadblocks for Homebuyers In late March, the FHA announced new loan limits for its Title I Manufac- tured Home Loan Program, using new methodologies for calculating and up- dating the program's limits. The update marked the first update to the Title I program loan limits since 2008, further supporting the Biden administration's efforts to increase the supply and use of manufactured homes as a source of affordable housing. HUD's Manufactured Home Com- munity loan product also complements the Department's recently announced PRICE program, which offers competi- tive grant opportunities for investments in affordable manufactured home communities. In its continued quest for equita- ble housing for all, HUD also recently awarded nearly $4 million to 11 grantees to support research that will fill crucial knowledge gaps and help build the evidence base to accelerate the adoption of innovative and effective practices and policies to increase the production and supply of quality, affordable housing. This includes exploring office-to-resi- dential conversions, to help communities meet their housing needs. The Offsite Construction and Land Use Reform Notice of Funding Opportu- nity (NOFO) awarded a total of $3 million to 10 institutions to conduct research to assess the potential for off-site construc- tion methods and zoning and land use reforms to increase the supply of quality affordable housing and reduce housing expenses for low- and moderate-income owners and renters. The Office to Residential Conver- sions Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) awarded a total of $858,261.91 to study recent efforts to convert down- town office buildings to properties with residential units since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. HUD AND VA PARTNER ON PERMANENT HOUSING INITIATIVE FOR VETERANS T he U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the availability of $78 million in HUD-Veter- ans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD- VASH) vouchers to Public Housing Agen- cies (PHAs) across the country, for more than 7,000 vouchers. Through the HUD-VASH program, HUD and VA's mission is to end home- lessness by assisting veterans and their families in obtaining permanent and sus- tainable housing with access to quality healthcare and supportive services, and to ensure that homelessness is otherwise prevented. "We want to put an end to veteran's homelessness and the HUD-VASH pro- gram is one of our most valuable resources to help us reach that goal," HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman said. "HUD is committed to working with housing agen- cies and Veteran Affairs Medical Centers across the country to get veterans off the street and into apartments they can afford. We owe them that." The HUD-VASH program combines HUD's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance for homeless veterans with case management and clinical services provided by the VA. VA provides these services for participating veterans at VA medical centers (VAMCs), com- munity-based outreach clinics (CBOCs), through VA contractors or other VA-des- ignated entities. "One veteran experiencing homeless- ness will always be one too many—and we will do everything in our power to ensure that Veterans get the safe, stable housing they deserve," VA Secretary De- nis McDonough said. "These vouchers are a critical part of that effort, empow- ering VA, HUD, and our partners to