$88.1M Tennessee Project Pairs LIHTC with 60 Vouchers

The Clear Blue Company has broken ground on Honeywood Dickson, an $88.1 million development planned to bring 228 affordable apartments to Dickson, Tennessee, west of Nashville.

The project combines Low-Income Housing Tax Credit financing with 60 project-based Section 8 vouchers. Its apartments will serve households at income limits of 30%, 60% and 80% of area median income, according to Multi-Housing News’ September 23 report.

For affordable-housing operators, the transaction connects two distinct needs: financing apartment construction and supporting the rent paid on behalf of eligible residents.

What the Financing Includes

The reported financing package includes the following components:

Tax-exempt bonds - Up to $48 million

4% LIHTC equity - Provided through Regions Affordable Housing; equity amount not disclosed

Regions construction loan - Approximately $37 million

Regions equity bridge loan - Approximately $11.5 million

Freddie Mac financing - Arranged through Regions Real Estate Capital Markets

Project-based vouchers - 60, provided by Dickson Housing Authority

Multi-Housing News attributes the construction and equity bridge loan amounts to Yardi Matrix.

These figures should not be added together as a complete accounting of the $88.1 million development budget. The published report does not provide a reconciled sources-and-uses schedule showing how each financing component relates to the others.

That distinction matters particularly for bridge financing. In affordable-housing transactions, an equity bridge loan can advance funds before tax-credit investor contributions arrive. American Community Capital describes that timing function in its explanation of developer financing. The project’s closing documents would be needed to establish Honeywood Dickson’s specific repayment structure.

How Tax Credits and Vouchers Work Together

LIHTC equity supports the cost of developing affordable housing. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency explains that equity raised through the credits reduces a property’s debt burden, helping owners offer lower rents.

Project-based vouchers address rental assistance. HUD explains that PBV assistance is attached to designated apartments through arrangements between housing agencies and property owners.

At Honeywood Dickson, the 60 vouchers are part of the planned 228-home community. They do not represent 60 additional apartments.

HUD also explains that housing authorities use a portion of their existing voucher funding to operate a PBV program. Choosing to project-base assistance does not itself bring an authority a separate allocation of additional voucher funding.

For operators, the combination makes coordination between development and housing-authority teams an important part of preparing for occupancy.

Local Records Show the Earlier Planning Work

Minutes from the Economic and Housing Development Corporation of Dickson County’s July 8, 2025 meeting document Clear Blue’s presentation of a 228-unit development with 60 housing-authority vouchers.

The presentation accompanied a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT, request. Board members discussed the proposed buildings, construction materials and common areas, including a pool and community building. The minutes record approval of a resolution, with one member abstaining.

The discussion also emphasized that construction materials and amenities needed to remain consistent with the plans presented to satisfy tax and funding requirements.

Those records corroborate the project’s planned size and voucher component before groundbreaking. They do not contain the final financing agreements.

Multi-Housing News reports that Honeywood Dickson represents Dickson Housing Authority’s first project-based voucher issuance and the city’s first qualifying residential PILOT development.

Construction Moves Toward Occupancy

The groundbreaking took place September 22. Initial apartments are expected in fall 2027, with full completion projected for March 2028.

Those dates describe the anticipated construction schedule. For housing providers following the transaction, the next milestones are delivery, leasing and the start of rental assistance in the designated apartments.