August 24, 2021, Beth Healy
WBUR News
A federal judge in Seattle on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by an investment firm against the Washington state housing commission, in a case that’s been widely watched by housing officials in Massachusetts and around the country.
The case involved Alden Torch Financial of Denver, which manages investments in low-income housing tax credits and has allegedly tried to extract money or control from housing groups, including in Boston and Seattle.
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State housing agencies are the only oversight arms for Low Income Housing Tax Credits, the federal government’s multi-billion-dollar program to get funding from banks and private financiers into affordable housing. Historically, funders would invest in these properties, receiving 15 years of tax benefits in return — and then allow the nonprofit housing group to assume ownership of the property for a small sum.
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