(c) The Commissioner of Housing shall determine eligibility criteria for such program and establish an application process for the program. The Department of Housing shall commence accepting applications for such program not later than January 1, 2025. A developer may apply to the Department of Housing for certification as a developer qualified to receive cash investments eligible for a tax credit pursuant to this section in a manner and form prescribed by the commissioner. To the extent feasible, any eligible workforce housing opportunity development project shall incorporate renewable energy or other technology in order to lower utility costs for the tenants and be transit-oriented. Any eligible workforce housing opportunity development project once constructed or substantially rehabilitated shall be rented as follows: (1) Forty per cent of the units shall be rented at the market rate, (2) fifty per cent of the units shall be rented to the workforce population designated under subsection (e) of this section, where such unit is rented to a member of such workforce population whose income is not more than sixty per cent of the area median income, and (3) ten per cent of the units shall be rented to families or individuals of very low income receiving rental assistance under chapter 128 or 319uu or 42 USC 1437f, as amended from time to time. The program shall provide for a method of selecting persons satisfying such income criteria to rent such units of housing from among a pool of applicants, which method shall not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity or expression, age or physical or intellectual disability.