Loading Content...
Affordable Housing in Arab, Alabama: Three Decades of LIHTC Development
CATEGORY
Affordable Housing
DATA
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
Loading Content...
Affordable Housing
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
Arab, Alabama, has a population of 13,709 as of 2022. The city's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funded affordable housing inventory comprises 186 total units, with 150 designated as low-income units. This represents approximately 3.5% of the city's estimated 5,252 housing units.
Arab has received $1,314,694 in project tax credits for affordable housing through the LIHTC program. With approximately 4 projects, this averages $328,673 in federal funding per project, or about $7,068 in federal funding per unit. The city holds 0.74% of the total state LIHTC funding.
Affordable housing has been present in Arab since 1990, with the first project being Greentree Apts. The most recent project, Waterford Farms Apartments, was completed in 2015, spanning a 25-year period of affordable housing development in the city.
The 2000s saw the most affordable housing activity, with two projects completed during this decade: Mallard Pointe Apts in 2004 and Annie Lee Gardens in 2009. The LIHTC-funded projects in Arab offer a variety of unit types, including 44 one-bedroom units, 77 two-bedroom units, and 20 three-bedroom units.
Over the last decade, Arab has experienced modest population growth, increasing from 13,232 in 2013 to 13,709 in 2022. The median income has risen from $44,894 in 2013 to $51,913 in 2022. The racial composition has remained predominantly white, though there has been a slight decrease from 96% in 2013 to 91% in 2022. The Hispanic population has increased from 2% to 4% during this period.
No new LIHTC projects have been completed since 2015. This could indicate that the existing affordable housing stock has been sufficient to meet the city's needs, or that other factors have influenced the development of new LIHTC projects.
Arab's LIHTC-funded affordable housing inventory represents a small but significant portion of its housing stock. The city has seen steady investment in affordable housing over a 25-year period, with projects catering to various household sizes. While demographic trends show modest population growth and increasing median income, the racial composition has remained relatively stable. The lack of new LIHTC projects in recent years may warrant further investigation into the city's current affordable housing needs and potential barriers to development.
