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Oregon Centralized Application (ORCA) FAQ

ORCA Application

​No, LAP applications do not count towards the project limits per ORCA step.

​Projects are welcome to work ahead and submit required tasks for Financial Eligibility, however will not be evaluated until that step.​

​Right now, OHCS plans to only go in front of Housing Stability Council (HSC) at the end of the Impact Assessment step of the ORCA. HSC will approve an "up to" amount of the award, and funding allocation will become more certain as the project moves through the rest of the ORCA steps. ​

​WorkCenters for 4% LIHTC deals will not be available until 2025.

If you decide to pursue a 4% LIHTC deal, the project will be removed from the Impact Assessment, returned to Intake, and placed on hold. The current WorkCenter will not be accessible, and a LIHTC-specific WorkCenter will be assigned once these WorkCenters become available in 2025.

Please be aware that if the project is already in Impact Assessment review, this will result in the project losing its position in the queue for review and Housing Stability Council approval. 


Yes, the tenant survey asks for that information, so no need for additional documentation regarding which tenants receive rental assistance.


Development Resources

The funding for the co-location of early childhood facilities is being administered through a third party collaborative of CDFIs named Build Up Oregon. We are working closely with them on projects looking to secure OHCS resources in addition to co-location funds, but applicants must apply for both funding sources separately through builduporegon.org.


Stay updated with recent announcements through Technical Advisories​ regarding LIHTC release and the QAP update.


OHCS publishes an updated funding availability dashboard​ so that developers and the public will have a clear view of resources allocated and available to projects and remaining resources. Progress about achieving the set asides will be transparent. Decisions about reallocating unspent dollars at the end of 2024 will be presented to future Housing Stability Council meetings.​​

OHCS has substantial resources from the Legislature, more resources than in years past. Tax Credits are unable to be leveraged with all those resources and that is a constraint. The ORCA process opens the intake where you are asked to provide information on all the deals on your desk, in whatever stage they are, so that good information is collected.

​The intention is to incentivize projects moving forward through the development process. A developer will be unable to submit multiple applications to hold resources if they are unable to move those projects forward quickly.

​The Oregon Multifamily Energy Program will remain it's own application and allocation process. For more information, please visit: https://www.oregon.gov/ohcs/development/pages/oregon-multifamily-energy-program.aspx.​

​No, OAHTC refinances are not counted toward the overall limits of projects in the ORCA steps.​

​BOLI determination is always required.​​  More information can be found in the GPGM.​

​For OAHTC-only requests, you should still start with the intake form. There's a more limited range of required documents that will be outlined in the workcenter

No, the predevelopment loan program was established to assist projects in meeting the increased readiness expectations of the ORCA process.

​Sponsors can apply on behalf of the seller through the ORCA intake form. There’s an offramp specifically for this credit with a simplified application form. Reservations are approved through our Finance Committee and will be reserved on the condition the sale is finalized before the credits are certified. The credits will be reserved out of the amount available to allocate in the year the sponsor applied.​

​Sponsors will be able to apply for the PuSH Seller’s Tax Credit separately and get a reservation and then apply for other funds through the usual ORCA process.​



Program definitions

The data is available on the Vulnerable to Gentrification ​map. ​​