Red light, green light: What smart growth provisions are passing go in the pending House tax legislation

Major tax legislation is an opportunity for Congress to incentivize and unleash investment in housing and development through the tax code—are they taking the action the country so critically needs? The Republican-controlled Congress passed a sweeping budget resolution in April that allowed them to begin drafting the changes to the tax code that will shape … Continued

Advocacy Land Use and Development LOCUS

Building the stack webinar series: Financing smart growth real estate projects

Join LOCUS and an exciting selection of guest speakers, who together, will dive into a series of webinars on how to finance and build missing middle housing, how to utilize the federal Opportunity Zone tax incentive to build residential units, and how to utilize creative financing approaches to facilitate projects that meet urgent community needs. … Continued

Events LOCUS

Reinvigorating Opportunity Zones to deliver housing and smart growth

The Trump-era Opportunity Zone tax incentive brought capital gains into community development in a new way. With Congress poised to consider extending the program in a tax package, it is an opportune time to highlight high-impact reforms that could help the tool better deliver much-needed homes, especially in locations with good access to jobs and … Continued

Advocacy LOCUS

Budget reconciliation: Smart growth implications

The coming months represent a pivotal window for the future of many government programs as well as projects that rely on tax credits or federal grants. The outcome of ongoing Congressional discussions about the esoteric budget reconciliation process could shape our communities for the next several decades. LOCUS, Smart Growth America’s coalition of real estate … Continued

Land Use and Development LOCUS

Honoring LOCUS founding member Bernie Glieberman: A visionary leader in smart growth development

LOCUS, Smart Growth America’s advocacy coalition for triple-bottom-line real estate developers, is deeply saddened by the passing of Bernie Glieberman, a founding member of LOCUS and visionary developer. Bernie’s dedication to ensuring accessible housing and livable neighborhoods for everyday Americans helped shape LOCUS’ mission from its earliest days. His vision and unwavering commitment to improving … Continued

Land Use and Development LOCUS

Introducing the new LOCUS Programmatic Priorities

LOCUS, SGA’s coalition of triple-bottom-line real estate developers and investors, is proud to announce three new priorities. Created in partnership with the LOCUS steering committee, these new priorities will guide the future of LOCUS’s advocacy efforts. LOCUS is a long-time leader in advocacy efforts to advance transit-oriented development and leveraging infrastructure investment to support housing … Continued

Land Use and Development LOCUS

TIFIA’s first transit-oriented development loan approval

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is an important priority of LOCUS to advance sustainable, equitable, walkable development in America’s metropolitan areas. To meet that goal, LOCUS has long advocated for TIFIA, an important tool to advance TOD, helping to secure a win through the passage of the FAST Act in 2015. Recently, the first loan was approved … Continued

Land Use and Development LOCUS

Announcing five new member of the LOCUS Steering Committee

We are excited to announce the addition of five esteemed members to the LOCUS Steering Committee. LOCUS, a program of Smart Growth America, is dedicated to promoting equitable and sustainable development practices across the United States through federal advocacy. With the inclusion of these accomplished professionals—who bring invaluable expertise and passion—we can continue our efforts … Continued

LOCUS

Q&A with the new LOCUS Chair, Alecia Hill

Earlier this month, Alecia Hill was elected to become the next Chair of LOCUS, stepping into the role that Jair Lynch held for eight years. Alecia is a Vice President at FCP and is responsible for expanding the firm’s impact investing initiatives and affordable housing preservation multifamily platform. In this Q&A, I had the opportunity … Continued

LOCUS