Georgia Housing Groups Awarded Nearly $3.7 Million in Funds for Affordable Rental, Homeownership Projects

Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta Grants to Benefit Low-Income Seniors, Renters, and Homebuyers


ATLANTA, Feb. 7, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- A new 96-unit apartment community for senior residents in Macon and several home repair programs for Georgia's low-income homeowners are among nine winning projects that will receive more than $3.6 million from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta's (FHLBank Atlanta) Affordable Housing Program (AHP).

Seven local housing organizations, in partnerships with FHLBank Atlanta member institutions, will use the funding to build, buy, or rehabilitate 727 affordable housing units for residents in several cities throughout the state including: Atlanta, Brunswick, Glynn, Macon, Savannah, and several counties in Southwest Georgia.

In metro Atlanta, three of the winning partnerships will use nearly $2 million in grants for revitalization projects and to increase rental housing supplies in the City of Atlanta and in Clayton, Dekalb, and Henry Counties.



 -- Ebenezer Building Foundation, Inc. and Bank of America will
    use $500,000 to help renovate the 95-unit former public
    housing complex MLK Village Tower into a rental community for
    mentally disabled and special needs residents.

 -- FHLBank Atlanta will award $1 million in AHP grants to Senior
    Connections and First Bank of the South to help repair 240 homes
    for low-income elderly homeowners throughout Atlanta.

 -- Community Committed to Character and The Park Avenue Bank will
    use $499,750 to provide home repair assistance to 50 lower-income
    homeowners in Clayton and Henry Counties.

"These AHP funds give America's community banks the opportunity to partner with public and nonprofit organizations to reinvest in the neighborhoods where they serve," said Lynn Brazen, FHLBank Atlanta director of community investment services.

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 $285 million to support affordable housing production in the South.

Awards announced today are part of more than $20.1 million in AHP grants the Bank recently awarded to 11 states and the District of Columbia to support the development of 72 housing development projects. Since 1990, housing organizations have used the AHP grants to help develop more than 52,000 housing units for very low- to moderate-income families and to provide down-payment assistance to nearly 5,200 families. For a complete list of award winners and details about individual projects, visit www.fhlbatl.com/ahpwinners.

About FHLBank Atlanta

FHLBank Atlanta is a $135 billion financial services organization that provides low-cost financing, community development grants, and other banking services to more than 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 more than $2 billion to affordable housing development in the United States.



                         SECOND ROUND -- AHP WINNERS

 GEORGIA

 Bartlett Crossing
 Macon, GA
 Member:  Regions Bank
 Sponsor:  Affordable Housing Solutions
 Grant: $500,000 for 96 units

Affordable Housing Solutions will use AHP funds to construct Bartlett Crossing, a 96-unit rental complex for elderly residents in Macon. The mixed-income rental complex is part of a larger redevelopment plan for the former 20 acre Westwood Apartment site, and will offer 86 two-bedroom units and 10 one-bedroom units to very low-, low-income and market-rate residents. In addition to AHP, financing for the property will include nearly $7 million dollars in tax credit equity, a $450,000 low-interest rate loan from the City of Macon, and a $1.25 million conventional loan.



 Brookman Mutual Self-Help
 Brunswick, GA
 Member:  SunTrust Bank
 Sponsor:  Southeast Georgia Community Development Corporation
 Grant: $100,000 for 20 units

AHP funds will be used to construct 20 single-family homes for very low- to low-income families in Brunswick. Potential homebuyers will work together and must complete a minimum of 65 percent of the construction labor tasks, as part of a "Mutual" Self-Help Housing program offered through Southeast Georgia CDC. No downpayment will be required, and repayment periods are 33 or 38 years.



 CDC Elderly Rehab Program
 Glynn, GA
 Member:  SunTrust Bank
 Sponsor:  Southeast Georgia Community Development Corporation
 Grant: $240,000 for 60 units

AHP funds will be used to rehabilitate 60 single-family homes for elderly residents in Glynn. The rehabilitation program will be offered on a 50/50 basis, with homeowners responsible for 50 percent of rehabilitation costs. Projects will consist of correcting code violations, safety hazards, and wheel chair modifications primarily. Homeowners will be allowed to use donated labor toward their 50 percent of the cost of the project.



 MLK Village Tower
 Atlanta, GA
 Member:  Bank of America Georgia, N.A.
 Sponsor:  Ebenezer Building Foundation, Inc
 Grant: $500,000 for 95 units

AHP funds will be used to purchase and renovate a former public housing development into a 95-unit rental complex for special needs residents in Atlanta. MLK Village Tower will include one-bedroom, one bath units and three studio units. Each unit will include Energy Star refrigerators, ranges with self-cleaning ovens, energy efficient/low water usage dishwashers and garbage disposals. On-site amenities will include a community room, fitness center, computer room, laundry facilities, and a Gazebo with picnic/BBQ area.



 Mossy Branch Apartments
 Savannah, GA
 Member:  Regions Bank
 Sponsor:  The Paces Foundation, Inc.
 Grant: $500,000 for 96 units

The Paces Foundations, Inc. will use AHP funds to acquire an infill site to develop a 96-unit, mixed-income apartment complex in Savannah. Mossy Branch Apartments is a proposed complex consisting of 12 one-bedroom, 36 two-bedroom, 36 three-bedroom, and 12 four-bedroom units. Amenities will include a large community room, swimming pool, leasing/management/maintenance facilities, health/fitness center, social lounges, mail kiosk, exercise path, freestanding gazebo, picnic areas, a designated employee unit for day and night presence on the site, and ample greenspace. A portion of the units will be fully equipped for persons with disabilities including vision and hearing impaired, and some with roll-in showers.



 Sincere Home Improvement Project II
 Henry and Clayton Counties, GA
 Member:  The Park Avenue Bank
 Sponsor:  Community Committed To Character
 Grant: $499,750 for 50 units

AHP funds will be used for rehabilitation services for 50 moderate-, low-, and very low-income homeowners in McDonough, Stockbridge, Hampton, Locust Grove, Jonesboro, and Rex. Sincere Home Improvement Project II is a program designed by Community Committed to Character to provide home repair assistance to people with limited incomes in Henry and Clayton Counties.



 Southwest Georgia Housing Rehabilitation Program
 Baker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Decatur, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller,
 Mitchell, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas, and Worth Counties, GA
 Member:  Southwest Georgia Bank
 Sponsor:  Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, Inc.
 Grant: $350,000 for 70 units

Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, Inc. will use AHP funds for rehabilitation services for 70 very low-income, elderly homeowners in Calhoun, Colquitt, Decatur, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas, and Worth counties. The AHP Housing Rehabilitation Program funds will address major housing repair issues that have adversely affected roofs, floors, walls, electrical, plumbing, and/or accessibility improvements.



 Urban Rehabilitation Project -- Atlanta
 Fulton County, GA
 Member:  First Bank of the South
 Sponsor:  Senior Connections
 Grant: $500,000 for 120 units

AHP funds will be used for rehabilitation services for 120 very low-income senior homeowners who occupy and have title to their residences in Atlanta. The repairs will assist the senior residents in remaining in their homes, allowing them to age in place, and contributing to the stabilization and revitalization of the neighborhood.



 Urban Rehabilitation Project -- DeKalb County
 Dekalb County, GA
 Member:  First Bank of the South
 Sponsor:  Senior Connections
 Grant: $500,000 for 120 units

AHP funds will be used for rehabilitation services for 120 very low-income senior homeowners who occupy and have title to their residences in Dekalb County. The repairs will assist the senior residents in remaining in their homes, allowing them to age in place, and contributing to the stabilization and revitalization of the neighborhood.



            

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