SAN FRANCISCO, June 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) awarded $73.6 million in Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants for targeted affordable housing projects. The grants were awarded through 20 Bank members to 89 projects that will construct or rehabilitate 6,280 units of housing affordable to lower-income families and individuals in seven states – Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Since the inception of the Affordable Housing Program in 1990, FHLBank San Francisco has awarded more than $1 billion in grants to help create much-needed affordable rental and homeownership opportunities in communities served by the Bank’s member financial institutions. “We are very proud to be the first in the FHLBank System to reach this $1 billion milestone,” said Greg Seibly, President and CEO of FHLBank San Francisco. “Year after year, our AHP dollars, delivered through our members to their nonprofit development partners and to first-time homebuyers, are effectively expanding access to quality, affordable housing and helping build strong, stable, and sustainable communities.”
The AHP is a flexible source of gap funding for projects that create an affordable place to call home for very low-, low-, and moderate-income households. Grants awarded in 2017 range from $110,000 to $2 million each and will support a wide range of projects aimed at meeting specific needs, including:
- Permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans and their families
- Senior-friendly housing targeted to the LGBT community
- Transitional and permanent supportive housing for chronically or at-risk homeless individuals and families and Transition Aged Youth
- Rental housing for very low-income individuals with developmental disabilities, mental illness, or long-term chronic illnesses
“In an unsettled financing environment, our AHP continues to be a reliable source of value-adding gap funding for projects that are successful in serving families and individuals facing an array of specific housing challenges,” said Jim Yacenda, Vice President and Community Investment Officer at FHLBank San Francisco. “The descriptions of the projects we are funding this year tell a sobering yet hopeful story of how the Bank’s AHP partners are leaning into challenges like helping homeless veterans in Newport Beach, fostering connections between healthcare and housing in Salinas, supporting housing and environmental sustainability in Indio, and working in conjunction with trailblazing ‘Cap and Trade’ funding from the state of California.”
The communities that will benefit from the AHP grants awarded through our members in the 2017 funding competition are:
Alabama: Huntsville
Arizona: Mesa, Phoenix, Tucson
California: Alameda, Anderson, Colma, Compton, Esparto, Fremont, Garden Grove, Glendale, Hesperia, Highland, Indio, Lancaster, Lindsay, Livermore, Loma Linda, Long Beach, Los Angeles, McFarland, Napa, Newport Beach, Oakland, Oxnard, Parlier, Ramona, Redwood City, Roseville, Sacramento, Salinas, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Gabriel, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, San Marcos, Santa Maria, Santa Paula, Sebastopol, Selma, Sonoma, Turlock, Ukiah, Vacaville, Ventura, Vista, Walnut Creek, Winters, Woodland
Florida: Lakeland
Nevada: Henderson, Las Vegas, Reno
Texas: Austin, Houston
Wisconsin: Milwaukee
Details about all the 2017 AHP grant winners are available at fhlbsf.com .
Affordable Housing Program The Bank sets aside 10% of its earnings each year to fund the AHP, with a portion of that funding allocated to two first-time homebuyer downpayment assistance programs. Since 1990, the Bank has awarded more than $1 billion in AHP grants to support the construction, rehabilitation, or purchase of nearly 132,000 units of quality affordable housing for lower-income households. The Bank’s member financial institutions, working in partnership with community-based housing sponsors or developers, compete for AHP grants by submitting applications for specific projects. AHP-funded projects represent a wide range of strategies and solutions, from historic preservation and adaptive reuse to new construction and rehabilitation. Where AHP projects are developed, local economies also get a boost, as these projects create jobs, increase construction and consumer spending, and generate new tax revenues.
Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco delivers low-cost funding and other services that help member financial institutions make home mortgages to people of all income levels and provide credit that supports neighborhoods and communities. The Bank also funds community programs that help members create affordable housing and promote community economic development. The Bank’s members are headquartered in Arizona, California, and Nevada and include commercial banks, credit unions, industrial loan companies, savings institutions, insurance companies, and community development financial institutions.
CONTACT: Mary Long, 415-616-2556 (office), 415-572-6717 (mobile), longm@fhlbsf.com
