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Affordable Housing in Carbondale: LIHTC's Role in a College Town's Housing Landscape
CATEGORY
Affordable Housing
DATA
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
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Affordable Housing
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
Carbondale, Illinois, a city housing Southern Illinois University, has a notable Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funded affordable housing inventory. The city possesses 632 total units in LIHTC-funded projects, with 570 designated as low-income units. Based on the estimated 11,245 housing units in Carbondale, LIHTC-funded affordable housing comprises approximately 5.6% of the city's housing inventory.
Carbondale has received $7,582,194 in project tax credits through the LIHTC program. With approximately 6 projects, this averages to about $1,263,699 per project. When divided by the total number of units, it equates to roughly $12,000 per unit in federal funding. Carbondale holds 0.94% of Illinois' total LIHTC funding allocation.
The city's LIHTC-funded housing development spans from 1997 to 2014, indicating a 17-year period of affordable housing growth. The earliest project, Jackson Street Apts, was completed in 1997, while the most recent, Mill Street Station, was finished in 2014. The 2000s experienced the most activity, with four projects completed during this decade.
The housing inventory includes a diverse mix of unit types: 91 efficiencies, 320 one-bedroom, 145 two-bedroom, 31 three-bedroom, and 9 four-bedroom units. This distribution suggests a focus on smaller households and potentially students, given Carbondale's university presence.
Over the past decade, Carbondale's population has decreased from 34,405 in 2013 to 29,350 in 2022. Despite this decline, the median income has risen from $34,064 in 2013 to $41,979 in 2022. The racial composition has remained relatively stable, with a slight increase in the Asian population from 5% to 6% and the Black population maintaining at 22%. The White population has stayed constant at around 64%.
The absence of LIHTC projects since 2014 may be attributed to the declining population and increasing median income, potentially reducing the immediate need for additional affordable housing units.
Carbondale's LIHTC-funded affordable housing represents a small but significant portion of the city's housing inventory. The city has utilized federal funding to create a diverse range of unit types, potentially catering to various household sizes and needs. While there has been no new LIHTC development in recent years, this aligns with demographic shifts showing a decreasing population and rising median income. The stable racial composition suggests that the existing affordable housing continues to serve a diverse community.
