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Department of Housing and Community Development

State of Maryland Announces the Infill and Redevelopment Pool’s First Award to Finance Affordable Rental Housing

The program supports smaller-scale projects and provides opportunities for new and emerging housing development companies

 

NEW CARROLLTON, MD (April 16, 2026) – Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day announced that the agency has awarded Searfoss Development $335,000 in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and $600,000 in HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds to support improvements to the Prospect Heights rental community in Dorchester County. The 9% tax credits, with proceeds valued at nearly $2.9 million, are the first funds awarded through the Department’s Infill and Redevelopment Pool for affordable multifamily housing development and will fund the rehabilitation of 16 townhome units.

“To solve Maryland’s housing crisis, we need to build more affordable homes, and we can’t do it without growing and strengthening our partnerships with private housing developers,” said Secretary Day. ”The Infill and Redevelopment Pool opens a new door for emerging development companies, setting aside funding and dedicated resources to build, preserve, and revitalize small-scale affordable housing. The program enables them to get their foot in the door, gain experience, and grow capacity while creating and preserving affordable units.”

Created in 2023, the Infill and Redevelopment Pool program finances smaller-scale development of affordable housing, usually on existing sites. It also seeks to expand Maryland’s pool of affordable housing developers by targeting funding to qualified development companies, empowering growth and building operational capacity. In each competitive application round, the Department sets aside up to $1.5 million in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits to be awarded through the Infill and Redevelopment Pool for these applicants and projects. This allows smaller or newer developers to compete for targeted project funding in a separate category rather than competing against larger projects and well-established applicants. Proceeds from the sale of the tax credits then provide immediate funding for affordable housing development.

Searfoss Development will use its estimated $2.9 million in tax credit proceeds to finance the renovation of the Prospects Heights rental community, located in Hurlock (Dorchester County). Upon project completion, the 16 rehabilitated townhomes will serve local households earning between 30-50% of Area Median Income. Additional awards made by the Department to support Prospect Heights include $600,000 from the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program and nearly $200,000 from the Multifamily Energy Efficiency and Housing Affordability – EmPOWER Program.

“Prospect Heights marks the first award and closing of a project in the new Infill and Redevelopment Pool. The innovation of this pool makes it possible for emerging developers to break into one of the highest barrier to entry fields,” said Grant Searfoss, Vice President of Searfoss Development. “I hope that Prospect Heights will serve as motivation to other emerging developers to partner with DHCD in creating and preserving affordable housing.

For more information about the Infill and Redevelopment Pool and other programs to create and preserve affordable rental housing, please visit the department’s website.

To learn more about Prospect Heights and the impact it will have on the Hurlock community, watch the Department’s recent Success Story video spotlight on its YouTube channel.

 

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