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Media Center | Press Releases « 2005 Press Releases »
2005 Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Neil
Cotiaux, FHLBank of Pittsburgh: 412-288-2851; cell:
330-703-0753
FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK OF PITTSBURGH AWARDS $8.59
MILLION IN GRANTS FOR 36 PROJECTS WITH NEARLY 1,200
UNITS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN DELAWARE, PENNSYLVANIA
AND WEST VIRGINIA
PITTSBURGH, PA, June 17, 2005 The Board
of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh
(FHLBank) today approved
$8.59 million in grants under its Affordable Housing
Program (AHP). The grants will help finance 36 housing
projects across Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia
(with additional out-of-district projects in Florida,
New Jersey and Ohio), creating 1,176 units of housing
with total development costs of $152.74 million.
"Each year, the FHLBank of Pittsburgh earmarks
ten percent of its net income to help create clean,
safe, attractively priced housing for rental or purchase
by families and individuals of limited means,"
said James D. Roy, the Bank's president and chief executive
officer. "We are pleased to make available these
critical grants and below-market-rate loans for the
16th straight year."
The FHLBank of Pittsburgh, a wholesale bank using private
capital, distributes AHP dollars through its member
financial institutions to community sponsors and project
developers. With today's announcement, the Bank has
awarded approximately $130 million for more than 20,000
affordable housing units since the start of the AHP
in 1990 empowering families, improving neighborhoods
and building sustainable communities.
"AHP financing is combined with other funding
sources to create fresh homeownership and rental opportunities
for low- to moderate-income individuals, the elderly,
infirm and handicapped, including those with special
needs," remarked John J. Bendel, director of Community
Investment at the FHLBank. "Project applications
must meet certain criteria, ensuring that the funds
we award are utilized effectively to meet local community
needs."
This year, the FHLBank of Pittsburgh received 84 AHP
applications. Projects funded include transitional housing
for the homeless, affordable homes for purchase by first-time
homebuyers, independent-living units for the physically
challenged, special-needs units for victims of domestic
abuse and at-risk mothers, and more. For details on
approved projects, click here.
In the just-completed funding round, the Bank awarded
$1.36 million for six projects in Delaware, $4.99 million
for 20 projects in Pennsylvania, $1.04 million for six
projects in West Virginia and $1.20 million for four
projects outside the FHLBank's district but within areas
served by the Bank's financial institutions membership.
With assets of more than $61 billion, the FHLBank of
Pittsburgh, a government-sponsored enterprise created
by Congress in 1932, serves nearly 340 members across
its three-state district. It is one of twelve FHLBanks,
all cooperatively owned banks established to provide
a steady stream of low-cost housing finance. More recently,
the Bank's mission has been expanded to include financing
for business start-up and expansion as well as a variety
of community and economic development needs.
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