Toolkit Case Studies

Capital Case Studies

Case Study

Texas’s Public Facility Corporations

"Right-Sizing" Property Tax Incentives to Increase Housing Affordability

In 2015, Texas implemented a unique multifamily tax exemption program. Facilitated under Texas Local Government Code, Texas is one of the first places to provide this form of incentive to create affordable housing and, as a result, it has had opportunities to refine the program towards ensuring it accomplishes its intended public purpose over time.

Case Study

Atlanta’s Private Enterprise Agreement

"Right-Sizing" Property Tax Incentives to Increase Housing Affordability

In 2023, as part of Mayor Dickens’s pledge to create 20,000 affordable housing units, Atlanta established the Atlanta Urban Development Corporation (“AUDC”). Beyond functioning as a “European style” public developer, AUDC created a program leveraging the Private Enterprise Agreement (PEA), found in the original 1937 Georgia Housing Authorities Law, to provide tax exemptions to projects that provide a minimum number of affordable units.

Case Study

Chattanooga’s PILOT Program

"Right-Sizing" Property Tax Incentives to Increase Housing Affordability

Chattanooga recently instituted a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program to offer developers a 15-year tax abatement commensurate to the number of affordable units created. Similar to Atlanta and Texas, the PILOT is enacted through a ground lease between a public entity, the Health Education and Housing Facilities Board, and a private or nonprofit real estate operator.

Case Study

San Diego Foundation

Beyond Traditional Giving: How Place-Based Philanthropy Catalyzes Housing Solutions

Like many cities, San Diego continues to face significant challenges from the ongoing housing crisis. Nearly 40% of households in the region are cost burdened, and the income needed to afford a down payment on a median-priced home in the city is approaching $200,000.

Case Study

The Chicago Community Trust

Beyond Traditional Giving: How Place-Based Philanthropy Catalyzes Housing Solutions

Reflecting a national trend, Chicago saw a surge in homelessness in 2024. According to the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness, approximately 76,375 people experienced homelessness, a 10.4% rise from the previous year.

Case Study

Los Angeles (LA4LA/California Community Foundation)

Beyond Traditional Giving: How Place-Based Philanthropy Catalyzes Housing Solutions

LA4LA is a groundbreaking public-private partnership between local philanthropy, the private sector, and the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Case Study

Atlanta

Beyond Traditional Giving: How Place-Based Philanthropy Catalyzes Housing Solutions

In Atlanta, nearly 72% of households spend more than 45% of their annual income on housing and transportation, leaving fewer funds for other critical needs and savings.

Case Study

Seattle, WA, Seattle Housing Levy (most recently 2023)

Housing Ballot Measures

First authorized in 1986, the Seattle Housing Levy has been renewed six times by city voters, most recently in 2023 by a 69-31 margin.

Case Study

San Antonio, TX, Measure F (2022)

Housing Ballot Measures

In 2022, San Antonio voters passed Measure F, dedicating $150 million to affordable housing as part of a six-initiative package that totaled over $1.1 billion for a number of civic needs.

Case Study

Los Angeles, CA (Measure A in 2024, Measure HHH in 2016)

Housing Ballot Measures

In 2024, Los Angeles County voters approved Measure A, a half-cent sales tax measure that would raise an estimated $1.1 billion annually for homeless services and affordable housing, with no sunset date.

Case Study

Ingham County, MI (Lansing), 2024

Housing Ballot Measures

Demonstrating that housing ballot measures can also succeed in less populated and more rural jurisdictions, Ingham County, MI, which includes Lansing, passed a housing and homelessness millage in 2024 by a margin of 62-38, with proceeds going to the County’s Housing Trust Fund.

A rendering of Kettner Crossing, a seven-story building

Case Study

Colorado, Prop 123, 2023

Housing Ballot Measures

Colorado’s Proposition 123, a $300 million statewide initiative which passed in 2022, created the state’s first dedicated funding stream for affordable housing.

Case Study

Denver Measure 2R, 2024

Housing Ballot Measures

Oftentimes as many lessons can be drawn from failed ballot measures as from ones that succeeded. Denver’s Measure 2R would have increased the city’s sales tax by 0.5%, generating an estimated $100 million a year in new annual revenue to support housing production through 2064.

Case Study

Utah Homes Investment Program

Investing in Homeownership: Public Investments in Starter Home Development

Under Governor Spencer Cox, the State of Utah has set an ambitious goal: build an 35,000 additional new starter homes by 2028 beyond what the market had been providing historically.

Case Study

Washington County, WI Next Generation Homes Program

Investing in Homeownership: Public Investments in Starter Home Development

Washington County is a suburban county located to the northwest of Milwaukee County. With a population of less than 140,000, the county had seen continuous and substantial growth since the 1950s, growing more than 10% each decade until the 2010s.

Case Study

Mixed-Income Development Model: Montgomery County, Chicago, Atlanta, and Chattanooga

Mixed-Income Public Development Model: Local Housing Finance Agency Innovation

As of the time of publication, at least four communities are actively implementing the mixed-income public development model, with numerous other localities and states exploring similar implementations.