The Iowa Finance Authority board of directors announced it has awarded more than $11 million in 4% federal housing tax credits to fund the construction and rehabilitation of 781 affordable rental homes across five projects in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Iowa City and Sioux City. The Des Moines project is Southridge Flats, a multifamily project located at 7210 SE 14th St. The project plans to have 160 units. The 4% Housing Tax Credit program, part of the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, pairs the state’s tax-exempt bonding authority with federal tax credits to help finance affordable housing developments. The awarded projects will receive a combined $76.4 million in tax-exempt bond financing. Federal reforms now allow more developments to qualify under the 4% program while using fewer bonds, increasing the number of affordable housing projects that can move forward in Iowa. “Recent federal changes to the 4% program have strengthened our ability to bring more projects forward, allowing us to award nearly twice as many units as last year and grow our pipeline at a time when Iowa needs more than 18,000 new homes by 2030,” IFA Director Debi Durham said in a news release. View all the awarded projects online.