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2004 Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Debra Anderson, press secretary, Rep. Chaka Fattah: 202-225-4001

Neil Cotiaux, FHLBank of Pittsburgh: 412-288-2851; cell: 330-703-0753; neil.cotiaux@fhlb-pgh.com

REP. FATTAH, MAYOR STREET, REV. CORTÉS, FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK UNVEIL $1.052 MILLION FOR NINE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS ACROSS GREATER PHILADELPHIA

PHILADELPHIA, PA, September 13, 2004 — U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (PA-2), Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street and the Rev. Luis Cortés Jr., president of Nueva Esperanza, Inc. and vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) of Pittsburgh, today announced the release of $1,051,773 in grants to help fund nine affordable housing projects across Philadelphia.

Fattah, Street, Cortés and representatives of eleven housing advocacy groups spearheading development of the units held a check presentation ceremony in the garden of the People's Emergency Center, the first shelter for homeless families in Pennsylvania and a leader in developing comprehensive social services as part of transitional housing.

The more than $1 million announced today is part of $4.8 million in grants for 2004 under the FHLBank's Affordable Housing Program (AHP). Since 1990, the Bank has awarded more than $26 million in AHP funds to 136 projects in Philadelphia, creating nearly 7,000 housing units for purchase or rental, special housing needs and shelter for the homeless.

The 115 units being funded represent both new and renovated housing for purchase or rental in the Belmont, Frankford, Washington Lane, Berks Street, Reinhard Street, Allegheny West, Southeast and Kensington neighhborhoods as well as one citywide program. Clients include low-income, disabled, chemical-dependent and homeless individuals and family members. Total development costs exceed $19.1 million.

"The grants we're announcing today represent a broad range of answers to the problems of homelessness, affordability, neighborhood deterioration and blight," remarked Fattah, featured speaker at the ceremony and a member of the VA-HUD Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. "The sponsoring organizations receiving these grants are to be commended for developing innovative solutions that tie social services to affordable housing while stabilizing and revitalizing neighborhoods all across our city."

"Safe, clean, accessible housing remains a major priority across Philadelphia and the rest of Pennsylvania," said Cortés. "Thanks to the support of Congressman Fattah and our four participating member banks — National Penn Bank, PNC Bank, Prudential Savings Bank and Sovereign Bank — we continue to see to it that this critical mission is accomplished."

Project sponsors are Friends Rehabilitation Program, Inc./Belmont Improvement Association; Frankford Community Development Corporation; Inglis Housing Corporation; Asociacion de Puertorriqueños en Marcha, Inc.; Resources for Human Development; Allegheny West Foundation; United Communities Community Development Corporation; Women of Excellence/Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation; and New Kensington Community Development Corporation.

The $1.052 million in affordable housing grants announced today encompass:

• $35,000 for the substantial rehabilitation of seven vacant structures in the Belmont neighborhood for sale to low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers. There are almost 400 vacant properties in Belmont, translating to a vacancy rate of approximately 22 percent. Friends Rehabilitation Program has provided more than 200 units of housing to the neighborhood since 1982.
• $30,000 for a six-unit scattered-site rehabilitation of several homes in the Frankford neighborhood for sale to low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers. The properties being rehabilitated will be added to the 43 new-construction and 45 rehabilitated units of housing that Frankford Community Development Corporation has developed since 1993.
• $70,000 for Inglis Gardens at Washington Lane, a new-construction 15-unit affordable housing complex in northwest Philadelphia designed for individuals with severe mobility impairments who wish to live independently. The project will help address the lack of low-cost, non-institutional housing for individuals who suffer from multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, spinal chord injuries and other neurological disorders that result in physical disabilities.
• $300,000 for Pradera III, 30 new homeownership units for first-time homebuyers in the Berks Street Corridor. Twenty of the 30 units will be targeted to low-income individuals and families. Homes will reflect design concepts similar to Pradera Phases I and II: suburban-style, semi-detached, single-family dwellings. Pradera Phase III will include three fully accessible units for persons with disabilities, including the vision-impaired.
• $149,773 for 15 new single-family townhomes within the Reinhard Street Project at 47th Street for very-low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers. Eleven of the units will use energy-efficient, state-of-the-art solar technology to produce electricity — one of the first instances of its use in new residential construction in Pennsylvania.

• $225,000 for Stable Homes for Stable Families III, part of Allegheny West Foundation's "Forgotten Blocks," a six-phase development plan in north Philadelphia. Stables Homes III will rehabilitate 15 vacant properties into 15 homes within the blocks bordered by Lehigh Avenue and Cambria, 19th and 20th streets. Twelve of the homes will be targeted to very-low- to low-income homebuyers.
• $50,000 to the UCCDC Affordable Homeownership Program, for the rehabilitation of vacant houses in the southeast portion of the city for sale to first-time homebuyers. All homebuyers must undergo pre- and post-mortgage counseling and are provided referrals to any services needed in the transition to homeownership.
• $112,000 to Women of Excellence/Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation to renovate a currently vacant three-story structure on North 9th Street to create 14 housing units for women recovering from homelessness and substance abuse.
• $80,000 for eight scattered-site properties in the area bordered by Front Street and Kensington Avenue, the Delaware River, Girard Avenue and Lehigh Avenue, to be rehabilitated and sold to first-time homebuyers. Five of the eight units are dedicated to low-income households. All homebuyers must participate in a housing counseling program and be creditworthy enough to carry a mortgage.

Since the AHP began in 1990, the FHLBank of Pittsburgh has awarded $121 million in housing grants for projects in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Of that total, $104.9 million was awarded through the AHP funding rounds and $16.1 million through the Home Buyer Equity Fund (HBEF), the FHLBank program that assists first-time homebuyers with down payment and closing costs. AHP funding, leveraged with funding from other sources, has resulted in more than $1.7 billion in total development, representing more than 19,000 affordable housing units.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, with assets of more than
$57 billion, serves nearly 350 financial institution members in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It is one of twelve FHLBanks, all private cooperatively owned banks that provide wholesale housing finance, community lending and correspondent banking services to member banks, savings institutions, credit unions and insurance companies.