ATLANTA, Aug. 1, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Nine Florida projects will receive $2.4 million in Affordable Housing Program (AHP) funds to create 345 affordable housing units in Alachua, Avon Park, Immokalee, Orlando, Santa Rosa, St. Petersburg, and Stuart as part of Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta's Affordable Housing Program (AHP).
Florida-based nonprofit Everglades Community Association, Inc. partnered with FHLBank Atlanta member 1st National Bank of South Florida, and will receive nearly $1 million to construct hurricane-relief and farm worker housing in Fort Pierce and Immokalee. Other winning projects will use grants ranging from $70,000 to $500,000 to develop single-family and rental housing accessible to lower-income families.
"AHP funds are increasingly becoming a more critical piece in community efforts to build housing that is affordable to Florida's residents," said Lynn Brazen, FHLBank Atlanta director of community investment services. "Florida projects such as Butterfly Garden, which will serve very low-income single mothers, and Live Oaks Villas, a mixed-income development in Fort Pierce, illustrate that a diverse population requires more affordable housing choices. I'm glad to see community partnerships using the Bank's AHP funds to make that happen."
AHP is a competitive grant program that helps develop 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 $273 million to address affordable housing production in the South.
Awards announced today are part of more than $13.3 million in AHP grants the Bank recently awarded in the first round of 2005. Since 1990, housing organizations have used the AHP grants to help develop nearly 50,000 housing units for very low- to moderate-income families and to provide down-payment assistance to nearly 4,000 families. For a complete list of first-round award winners and details about individual projects, visit www.fhlbatl.com/ahpwinners.
About FHLBank Atlanta
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta is a $134 billion financial services organization that provides low-cost financing, community development grants, and other banking services to nearly 1,200 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 nearly $2 billion to affordable housing development in the U.S.
FIRST Round- AHP Winners
FLORIDA
Butterfly Gardens Housing Complex
Stuart, FL
Member: Harbor Federal Savings Bank
Sponsor: M.I.S.S.
Grant: $375,000.00 for 20 units
AHP funds will be used to help M.I.S.S. (Mothers and Infants Striving for Success) develop te Butterfly Gardens Housing Complex, which will include 20 two-bedroom/two bath-apartment units, an on-site daycare, recreational programs, administration offices, a multi-purpose room for educational and after-school programs, and security monitoring systems. The project will target very low-income female heads of households in Stuart. This project will provide housing for a total of forty families, housing approximately 105 people.
Project 2005 Santa Rosa and Escambia, FL Member: Bank of Pensacola Sponsor: Pensacola Habitat for Humanity, Inc. Grant: $70,000.00 for 14 units
Pensacola Habitat for Humanity (PHFH) will use AHP funds to construct 14 single-family homes for very low-income families in Santa Rosa and Escambia. The homes will be sold at cost with a no-interest mortgage. The program works with very low-income families who would not otherwise qualify for a conventional mortgage as a result of their income level or credit issues. A majority of the families who are accepted in the Habitat program earn less than 50 percent of the area median income.
Alachua Neighborhood Housing Improvements Alachua, FL Member: Millennium Bank Sponsor: City of Alachua Grant: $132,300.00 for 21 units
The City of Alachua will use AHP funds to rehabilitate 21 single-family units for lower-income homeowners in Alachua. The project also proposes to use additional funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) under its Rural Housing Service, Housing Preservation Grant, the Alachua County Board of Commissioners (under its State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program), and the Florida Department of Community Affairs.
Hope Place at Maxwell Terrace Orlando, FL Member: CNL Bank Sponsor: Grand Avenue Economic Development Corporation Grant: $160,000.00 for 32 units
AHP funds will be used to purchase and rehabilitate Hope Place at Maxwell Terrace, a two-phase project that will provide 32 units of independent permanent housing for disabled persons (Phase 1) and 40 units of assisted living housing for disabled persons (Phase 2). The 32 units will also provide housing for homeless persons in Orlando.
The Palms at Lake Tulane Avon Park, FL Member: Bank of America Georgia, N.A. Sponsor: National Development Foundation, Inc. Grant: $450,000.00 for 80 units
AHP funds will be used to help construct and finance 80 rental units targeted to very low- and low-income rural families. The project involves the new construction of 80 garden apartments in a hurricane-impacted community. The site is convenient to shopping, health care, recreational facilities, and supportive services. AHP-assisted households will benefit from an extensive social service program. The project will be funded with LIHTC and FHFC tax credits. Total development cost is estimated to be $8.9 million.
Live Oak Villas Fort Pierce, FL Member: 1st National Bank of South Florida Sponsor: Everglades Community Association, Incorporated Grant: $500,000.00 for 104 units
Everglades Community Association will use AHP funds to construct Live Oak Villas, a 104-unit multifamily rental project situated in Fort Pierce. The proposed Live Oak Villas apartments include one, two, three and four-bedroom units and amenities including a clubhouse, pool, exercise room, library, and computer center. The project sponsor, Everglades Community Association, provides rental housing opportunities to migrant and seasonal farmworkers in rural Florida. Accordingly, Live Oak Villas sets aside 60 percent of the planned rental units to agricultural households earning 40 percent or less than the area median income. Financing for Live Oak Villas consists of conventional construction and permanent financing, Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity, and local government contributions.
Eden Gardens Farm Labor I Immokalee, FL Member: 1st National Bank of South Florida Sponsor: Everglades Community Association, Incorporated Grant: $400,000.00 for 51 units
AHP funds will be used to develop and construct a 51-unit rental project targeted to low and very low- income migrant and seasonal farmworker households in Immokalee. This rural affordable housing project is funded with Florida Housing Finance Corporation Low Income Housing Tax Credits, USDA Rural Development 514 subsidized loan and rental assistance funds, and Collier County grants. AHP-assisted households will benefit from an integrated empowerment program. The total development cost is $6.375 million.
Hidden Cove Apartments St. Petersburg, FL Member: United Bank and Trust Company Sponsor: Boley Centers for Behavioral Health Care, Inc. Grant: $187,960.00 for 14 units
AHP funds will be used to construct a 14-unit apartment complex comprised of one-bedroom, one-bath units to be rented to people with severe and persistent mental illness in St. Petersburg, who have very low incomes (less than 50 percent AMI). The residents, most of whom will receive only Social Security as their income, will pay no more than one-third of their adjusted gross income for rent. 20 percent of the units will be accessible.
Clam Bayou Apartments II St. Petersburg, FL Member: United Bank and Trust Company Sponsor: Pinellas Affordable Living, Inc. Grant: $135,077.00 for nine units
Pinellas Affordable Living, Inc. will use AHP funds to help construct nine multifamily rental units at Clam Bayou Apartments in St. Petersburg. The two-story complex will include three one-bedroom units, three two-bedroom units, and three three-bedroom units. Four units will be set aside for homeless individuals or homeless households. 66 percent of the units (six) will be for families earning under 50 percent of area median income. Three of the units will be for households earning at or below 80 percent AMI.