ARCH works directly with housing developers across the Alabama Balance of State to turn AHFA's homeless set-aside incentives into real, occupied units — with signed cooperative agreements, coordinated referrals, and CoC-connected supportive services built in from day one.
ARCH CEO Felicia Jackson has presented the CoC & Housing Developer Partnership session multiple times across the state, and the message stays consistent: rural Alabama's Continuum of Care doesn't lead with what's missing. It leads with what works.
“We never say our communities don't have sufficient housing — we've mastered how to get people housed quickly.”
That's the pitch ARCH brings to every developer conversation. The Balance of State CoC already has the referral pipeline, the coordinated entry system, and the supportive-services partners in place. What developers bring is the units. Put together, an AHFA-incentivized development and a ready CoC turn into housing placements fast — not a years-long ramp-up.
The Alabama Housing Finance Authority (AHFA) gives developers a point preference on HOME- and Housing Credit (LIHTC)-financed applications for setting aside a share of units for people experiencing homelessness or living with a disability. That preference is exactly why the CoC-developer relationship matters — ARCH is the partner on the other side of the MOU those units require.
ARCH is the Continuum of Care side of that MOU requirement for developers working across the 37-county Balance of State area. That means a developer pursuing AHFA's set-aside preference already has a ready partner: a referral pipeline through Coordinated Entry, a signed cooperative agreement, and a direct connection to supportive services once units are ready to lease.
Source: AHFA — Development Resources
ARCH has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the following developments, connecting their AHFA set-aside units directly to the Balance of State CoC's referral and supportive-services network. This list will keep growing as new agreements are signed.
Brewton, AL
Childersburg, AL
Thomasville, AL
More developer partnerships will be added here as agreements are signed.
If your project is pursuing AHFA's homeless/disability set-aside preference, ARCH can be your CoC partner — MOU, referral pipeline, and supportive-services coordination.