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Lewistown, Montana: LIHTC Program Shapes Affordable 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
Lewistown, a city in Montana, has a modest Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funded affordable housing inventory. The city has 59 affordable housing units, all of which are designated as low-income units. Based on the estimated housing inventory of 2,620 units, the LIHTC-funded affordable housing covers approximately 2.25% of the city's housing stock.
Lewistown has received $320,000 in project tax credits from the LIHTC program. With approximately 2 projects, this translates to an average of $160,000 in federal funding per project. Considering the total of 59 units in LIHTC-funded projects, the average federal funding per unit is about $5,424. Lewistown holds 0.17% of Montana's total LIHTC funding allocation.
The city's LIHTC-funded housing spans from 2010 to 2018, indicating an 8-year presence of this program in Lewistown. The earliest project, Ouellette Place, was completed in 2010, while the most recent, Meadows, was finished in 2018. The 2010s saw the most affordable housing activity in Lewistown.
Breaking down the unit types, Lewistown's LIHTC inventory consists of 37 one-bedroom units, 16 two-bedroom units, and 6 three-bedroom units. This distribution suggests a focus on smaller households and families.
Over the last decade, Lewistown's population has slightly declined, from 7,366 in 2010 to 6,838 in 2022. The median income has fluctuated, reaching a peak of $49,189 in 2018 before decreasing to $41,893 in 2022. The racial composition has remained relatively stable, with the white population consistently comprising about 94-95% of the total.
The completion of the Meadows project in 2018 coincided with the city's highest median income year, potentially indicating a response to growing housing needs despite overall population decline.
Lewistown's LIHTC-funded affordable housing inventory, while modest, represents a consistent effort to provide low-income housing options. The city has leveraged federal funding to create 59 affordable units across two projects over eight years. Despite a slight population decline, the continued investment in affordable housing suggests an ongoing commitment to addressing housing needs for lower-income residents. The predominance of one-bedroom units indicates a focus on smaller households, which aligns with broader demographic trends in many urban areas.
