Two proposals to build low-income housing in Vicksburg using tax credits associated with the Katrina-inspired Gulf Opportunity Zone failed to make the cut in the state’s $51 millon allocation.

The Mississippi Home Corporation announced the financing of 35 developments, 26 of which are to be in the state’s six southernmost counties.

Those areas face the greatest reconstruction task of the 49 counties in the federally declared Katrina disaster area.

Twelve projects were awarded for Gulfport and Biloxi alone, with developments ranging in size from 60 to more than 200 units.

&#8220One of the obstacles to the recovery of the Gulf Coast has been the shortfall of affordable work force housing,” said MHC executive director Diane Bolen in a statement.

In all eligible counties, including Warren, 86 developments had been proposed for the funding cycle, which ended this week when final grades on the proposals were announced.

One here was proposed by Dallas-based Roundstone Development LLC for a 21-acre site at Porters Chapel Road and Wisconsin Avenue in Vicksburg, acreage owned by the Sisters of Mercy religious order.

The other was by Monroe, La.-based Sunquest Properties. It was to be built at China Grove and Gibson roads.

Both plans called for a subdivision of 72 single-family homes with developers receiving major tax breaks and other incentives to make the projects affordable.

Another, a 52-unit neighborhood of small homes in Edwards just inside Hinds County, was also rejected.

The credits announced this week represent the final batch authorized for Mississippi by the legislation passed by Congress two months after the August 2005 storm.

Developments planned outside the coastal counties slated to receive financing include two in Columbus and one each in Canton, Crystal Springs, Jackson, Magee, McComb and Waynesboro.

To apply, private firms had to first get local clearance. The Warren County Board of Supervisors voted for blanket approval of any applicant despite objections of adjacent property owners at several proposed locations. Hearings were also required.

The final step was that MHC, the state-level housing agency that administers the Katrina-related credits in addition to other credits awarded annually and geared to low-income wage earners, has allocated $114.5 million in tax credits to fund more than 10,000 housing units since January 2006, when applications from developers began rolling in.

Applicants were graded on a 122-point system based on developers following program guidelines both required and optional.

Of the 4,028 units planned in the 35 developments, 843 will be single family, lease-purchase homes that will allow tenants to buy houses at the end of a 15-year lease period.

Proposals in Vicksburg included one at the former Pinewood Motel property on U.S. 80. Like four others, that project did not receive financing.

One local renovation project that received credits this year was a plan to refurbish the Circle Lake Apartments on Hope Street.

Developers with North Carolina-based Integra Development Partners began small steps in June toward its renovation, a project that will rename it the Madison Glen Apartments and is expected to take a year.