COMMUNITY WORKFORCE HOUSING INNOVATION PILOT PROGRAM (CWHIP)

CWHIP promotes the creation of public-private partnerships to finance, build and manage workforce housing and requires the coordinated efforts of all levels of government as well as private sector developers, financiers, business interests and service providers.

CWHIP encourages the pooling of local resources, local regulatory incentives, including land use strategies and non-traditional sources of local funding.

CWHIP partnerships must involve at least one public sector entity and one private sector for-profit or nonprofit entity.

CWHIP will provide flexible funding toward the construction or rehabilitation of housing in the form of loans with interest rates of one percent to three percent, which may be forgivable if the housing meets long term affordability requirements.

CWHIP provides that any plan amendments certified by the local government as CWHIP amendments will receive 30-day expedited review by the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA), and may proceed straight to adoption rather than through the multi-step process now required by DCA.

Eligible Residents

At least 50 percent of the affordable housing units built using CWHIP funds should be set aside for essential services personnel. Essential services personnel will be defined by local governments in their State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program plans, however, they could include teachers, educators, police and fire personnel, health care workers, skilled building trades personnel, and others.

80 percent of the units built using CWHIP funds should be available to households earning incomes up to 140 percent of area median income (AMI). This program may serve a broad range of incomes up to 140 percent of AMI.