ATLANTA, July 29, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- An apartment complex for mentally disabled residents and 45 new single-family homes in the Leesburg area are among three housing initiatives in Florida to receive $418,480 in grants as part of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta's Affordable Housing Program (AHP).
Nonprofit housing developers in partnership with the Bank's member financial institutions will use the funding to help create 75 affordable single-family and multifamily units for low-income residents in Florida. Individual grants -- ranging from $30,000 to $270,000 -- will be made in the following communities: Leesburg, Mt. Dora, and Wildwood ($270,000 for 45 units); St. Petersburg ($118,480 for 25 units); and Walton ($30,000 for 5 units).
"Developers are using the AHP to fund housing for schoolteachers, the homeless, the elderly, and other residents who often struggle to find affordable homes within their means," said Raymond Christman, FHLBank Atlanta president and chief executive officer. "For example, Homes In Partnership (HIP) and First Federal Savings Bank of Lake County will use $270,000 to build single-family homes for 45 families participating in HIPs Self-Help program."
The awards announced today are part of $9.2 million in AHP funds the Bank recently awarded to develop housing for 1,875 very low-income, low-income and moderate-income families in nine states throughout the South.
AHP is a competitive grant program that helps develop low-income, single-family and multifamily housing. Awards are granted twice a year to housing organizations that apply for funds through financial institutions that are members of the Bank. Since 1990, FHLBank Atlanta has contributed more than $266 million to address affordable housing production in the South.
This year, nonprofit developers partnered with FHLBank Atlanta member financial institutions to submit 138 applications for funding in the first round of the Bank's AHP offering. Since 1990, FHLBank Atlanta members and nonprofits have used AHP to develop nearly 47,000 homeownership and rental units, and to provide down-payment assistance to nearly 4,000 families.
FHLBank Atlanta
FHLBank Atlanta is a $123 billion financial services organization that provides low-cost financing, community development grants, and other banking services to 1,194 financial institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. FHLBank Atlanta is one of 12 district banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, which since 1990 has contributed more than $1.7 billion to affordable housing development in the United States.
FLORIDA AHP-A WINNERS
Leesburg, Mt. Dora, Wildwood Lake and Sumter, FL Member: First Federal Savings Bank of Lake County Sponsor: Homes In Partnership, Inc. Grant: $270,000.00 for 45 units
AHP funds will be used to construct 45 single-family homes for very low- to low-income families in the cities of Leesburg, Mt. Dora, and Wildwood. Homeowners participate in Rural Development's Self-help program, allowing them to earn "sweat equity" towards the construction of their homes.
Walton County Habitat for Humanity Walton, FL Member: AmSouth Bank Sponsor: Habitat for Humanity of Walton County Grant: $30,000.00 for 5 units
AHP funds will be used to provide affordable homeownership for five very low-income families living in substandard housing. These families will have the opportunity to purchase single-family residences in various rural areas of Walton County.
Safe Haven St. Petersburg, FL Member: United Bank and Trust Company Sponsor: Boley Centers for Behavioral Health Care, Inc. Grant: $118,480.00 for 25 units
AHP funds will be used to obtain, rehabilitate, and operate a Safe Haven program to provide permanent housing to 25 chronically homeless individuals who have a mental illness.