ATLANTA, Feb. 1, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Two public housing rehabilitation projects spearheaded by Jacksonville Housing Authority and the Arcadia Housing Authority are among eight winning projects in Florida that will receive $2.9 million in grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta).
Local housing developers, in partnership with FHLBank Atlanta's member institutions, will use funding from the Bank's Affordable Housing Program (AHP) to help build, buy, or rehabilitate 674 affordable housing units for residents in Arcadia, Eustis, Immokalee, Jacksonville, Okeechobee, Sebring, Tangerine, and Wildwood.
Florida Housing Authority will use a $500,000 grant to help build 328 affordable rental apartments as part of an ambitious Hope VI initiative at the former Brentwood Park public housing development in Jacksonville. Brentwood Park is just the first phase of a $29.7 million redevelopment effort, with a future phase of the project to include for-sale single family homes, the National Football League's Youth Education Town (YET), and a Shands Medical Clinic.
"The rapid increase in Florida's housing costs has depleted existing rental apartment housing stock and has left little in the way of quality affordable housing for the area's working families," said Lynn Brazen, FHLBank Atlanta director of community investment services. "The Arcadia Housing Authority's efforts to redevelop a hurricane-impacted property, and the construction of Eden Gardens Farm Labor project, which will offer housing for Immokalee's farm workers, are just two examples of Florida's efforts to fill the critical gap in its affordable housing supply."
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
FLORIDA
Arcadia PHD Rehab
Arcadia, FL
Member: BB&T of NC
Sponsor: Arcadia Housing Authority
Grant: $500,000 for 50 units
AHP funds will be used to renovate a 50-unit public housing
development complex in Arcadia that was severely damaged by
Hurricane Charley. The $3.5 million renovation project will
include the replacement of all major building systems and
substantial repair to roofs, walls, ceilings, and floors. The
complex has provided affordable housing to low-income families
in Arcadia for more than 40 years, and it will be restored as
an important housing resource in the community.
Brentwood Park Apartments
Jacksonville, FL
Member: Bank of America Georgia, N.A.
Sponsor: Jacksonville Housing Authority
Grant: $500,000 for 328 units
Jacksonville Housing Authority will use AHP funds to construct
Brentwood Park Apartments, a 328-unit rental complex for families
and elderly residents in Jacksonville. The development will
consist of 26 two-story garden style residential buildings and
one mid-rise building. The 100 units within the mid-rise building
will be targeted for low-income elderly households (age 55 plus),
while the 228 garden-style units will be targeted for low-income
families. Brentwood Park will also feature two unique amenities
for the community: the National Football League's Youth
Education Town (YET) Center and Shands Medical Clinic.
CASA2006
Jacksonville, FL
Member: EverBank
Sponsor: Grove House of Jacksonville, Inc.
Grant: $100,000 for 20 units
Grove House of Jacksonville, Inc. will use AHP funds to build 20
single-family homes on scattered sites for very low- to
low-income households in Jacksonville. The homes will be leased
to adults with developmental and acquired disabilities.
Desoto Landing
Arcadia, FL
Member: Bank of America Georgia, N.A.
Sponsor: National Development Foundation, Inc.
Grant: $270,000 for 48 units
AHP funds will be used to construct Desoto Landing, a rental
townhome development affordable to very low- to low-income
families in Arcadia. Desoto Landing will consist of 48
two-story townhomes with three and four bedrooms, with two
baths. All units will range from 1,150 square feet to 1,250
square feet of living area, and will rent to families earning 60
percent or below the area median income, with 40 percent of the
units set aside for farm worker households.
Eden Gardens Farm Labor II
Immokalee, FL
Member: 1st National Bank of South Florida
Sponsor: Everglades Community Association, Incorporated
Grant: $400,000 for 37 units
AHP funds will be used to develop and construct a 37-unit rental
project targeted to very low-income farm worker households in
Immokalee. The $4.9 million project will include funding from
the Florida Housing Finance Authority and the USDA. AHP assisted
households will benefit from an integrated empowerment program.
Eustis, Tangerine, Wildwood
Lake, FL
Member: Colonial Bank, National Association
Sponsor: Homes In Partnership, Inc.
Grant: $210,000 for 35 units
Homes In Partnership, Inc. will use AHP funds to provide down-
payment and mortgage-reduction assistance to 35 very low- to
low-income families purchasing single-family homes in Eustis,
Tangerine, and Wildwood. Potential buyers will undergo HUD
certified homebuyer counseling to qualify for the three-bedroom,
two-bath homes.
Okeechobee Senior
Okeechobee, FL
Member: Riverside National Bank of Florida
Sponsor: Okeechobee Non Profit Housing, Inc.
Grant: $500,000 for 60 units
AHP funds will be used to construct 60 rental units targeted
to very low- and low-income rural elderly in Okeechobee, a
hurricane-impacted community. The $6.7 million development will
offer an extensive empowerment program, and it is convenient to
services, including health care facilities, grocery, pharmacy,
police, and fire services. The project will include funding from
the USDA and Florida Housing Finance Corporation's Low-Income
Housing Tax Credit program.
Sleepy Hollow
Sebring, FL
Member: Wauchula State Bank
Sponsor: National Development Foundation, Inc.
Grant: $500,000 for 96 units
National Development Foundation, Inc. will use AHP funds to
construct Sleepy Hollow, a 96-unit rental development for
lower-income families in Sebring. Sleepy Hollow will consist
of 96 two-story townhomes featuring two-, three-, and
four-bedrooms with two baths. The development will include a
clubhouse with office space for on-site management, a community
meeting room, laundry facilities, a covered picnic area, a tot
lot, a volleyball court, a car care area, and abundant green
space. Sixty-one percent of the townhouses at Sleepy Hollow
will be rented to households that earn less than 50 percent of
Highlands County's median income, with the remainder rented to
households that earn less than 60 percent.