Media Center « Press Releases »

Press Releases

FOR RELEASE: 10 a.m., April 13, 2007

Contact: Ron Goldwyn, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, 215-387-6404; 215-913-0972;
Ron.Goldwyn@mail.house.gov
Neil Cotiaux, FHLBank: 412-288-2851; Neil.cotiaux@fhlb-pgh.com

Congressman Fattah announces $2.62 million in affordable housing grants:
314 units of new, rehab housing for low- to moderate-income individuals funded

PHILADELPHIA, PA, April 13, 2007 - U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (PA-2) announced today that eleven affordable housing projects in the Philadelphia region will receive a total of $2.62 million in grant money, helping to create 314 units of clean, safe housing for individuals and families of modest means.

Congressman Fattah, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, joined officials of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLBank) in announcing the grants during a ceremony at the Interim House West community center. Also attending were affordable housing advocates, bankers and REALTORS.

“The affordable housing grants we announce today represent projects that will bring value to multiple neighborhoods and help set the stage for further progress in overall community revitalization,” said Congressman Fattah. “They offer family stability, needed onsite social services and a better quality of life. Taken as a whole, they represent another big step forward for Philadelphia and the region.”

FHLBank is a government-sponsored enterprise chartered by Congress. Approximately ten percent of its annual net earnings are set aside for affordable housing-related grants, which are funded with private capital, not taxpayer dollars.

Six Philadelphia-based developments receiving Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants today include:

• Booth Manor II ($500,000) - Booth Manor II will connect to the existing Booth facility in West Philadelphia’s Haddington neighborhood. Housing 49 one-bedroom units for very-low-income seniors and one superintendent’s unit, all will be handicapped-adaptable and two will be handicapped-accessible. Management will provide frail seniors with coordinated support services. The project is within walking distance of grocery and drug stores. Citizens Bank will deliver the project funding to the Affordable Housing Group of Philadelphia and the Salvation Army.
• The Commons at Point Breeze ($500,000) - The Commons at Point Breeze will provide both new and rehabbed housing in the form of townhomes and apartments to 55 individuals or families, including physically disabled and visual- or hearing-impaired individuals. The development will create one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments as well as townhomes. Six units will be reserved for the physically disabled and two for the hearing- or visually- impaired. The development will include 42 buildings. Universal Point, the first phase of the 16th and Federal revitalization plan, was completed in 2001 and includes 53 rental units. The second phase, Point Breeze Estates, was completed in 2005 and includes 18 townhomes. The Commons at Point Breeze represents phase three. Citizens Bank is distributing the grant to the project sponsor, Universal Community Homes.
• Dewey Housing ($150,000) - Dewey Housing, a scattered site project in the west part of the city, will rehabilitate ten two-story, single-family rowhouses. Rehab work will include roof replacement, the gutting and updating of bathrooms and kitchens, installation of appliances and the insulation of attics. Eight units will encompass three-bedroom homes and two units, four-bedroom homes. In addition, two units each will serve formerly homeless families and individuals recovering from substance abuse. AchieveAbility will provide support services that include homeownership counseling and financial literacy instruction. Bank: PNC Bank. Sponsors: AchieveAbility and Fairmont Ventures.
• Hunting Park Housing Rehabilitation ($70,000) - Phase II will rehabilitate seven properties. Phase I, now under way, is rehabbing six other properties. All are currently vacant. The combined thirteen units will be single-family dwellings for sale. Bank: Sovereign Bank. Sponsors: Nueva Esperanza, Sherick Property Management.
• Melon Supported Independent Living ($80,671) - In Philadelphia’s Mantua neighborhood, this project will provide housing for individuals with behavioral health issues and other disabilities. Newly constructed, the three-story structure will encompass ten one-bedroom units. A comprehensive set of social services will be delivered to residents by mental health agencies throughout the city. Firstrust Bank will deliver the grant to 1260 Housing Development Corporation.
• Twentieth and Lehigh Housing Project ($80,000) - Part of Allegheny West Foundation’s Forgotten Blocks Initiative in North Philadelphia, this development will be built on a vacant corner lot. Approximately 3,500 square feet of retail and commercial space will occupy the ground floor with four apartments on the second floor, a mixed-use strategy designed to remedy blight as well as help foster sustainable development. PNC Bank will deliver the grant to Allegheny West Foundation and Sherick Property Management.

The three Delaware County developments receiving AHP funding today are:

• Park Row Place ($200,000) - In Upland Borough, Park Row Place will be a new three-story facility with 63 one-bedroom rental units, plus one unit for staff, serving the very-low-income elderly in Chester. Thirteen units are dedicated for use by the formerly homeless, 16 units for frail elderly. All units will be handicapped-adaptable. Bank: New Century Bank. Sponsor: Church Housing Corporation of Delaware County.
• Union Square ($390,000) - The Union Square project will bring online 26 attached single-family homes targeting moderate-income first-time homebuyers. The land, vacant for about 30 years, abuts the waterfront. Each unit will include four bedrooms, three full baths, a den and other amenities. Bank: PNC Bank. Sponsors: Chester Redevelopment Authority and T.J. Properties, Inc.
• Wellington Heights Phase II ($300,000) - Twenty two-story, semi-detached housing units will replace World War II-era shipworker rowhomes in Chester’s Highland Gardens neighborhood. The homes, for purchase by moderate-income first-time homeowners, will feature three bedrooms with the option to upgrade. The Wellington Heights development is a key component of Chester’s Upper West End Initiative which includes plans to replace older housing stock. Bank: Sovereign Bank. Sponsors: Chester Redevelopment Authority, Pennrose Properties.

Two Montgomery County projects are also recipients of AHP grants:

• Carriage Stone ($50,000) - The Carriage Stone project in Norristown is being built by volunteers of Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County on the site of a vacant mansion at the corner of Jacoby and Green streets razed by fire in 2003. Five new townhomes, providing permanent residence to qualified first-time homebuyers who must contribute sweat equity, will reflect the prevailing neighborhood architecture. Groundbreaking occurs next Monday with project completion anticipated this October. Volunteers from Villanova University have signed up to work at the site. Bank: Sovereign Bank. Sponsor: Habitat for Humanity - Montgomery County.
• Schwenckfeld Terrace ($300,000) - In Lansdale, Schwenckfeld Terrace will offer 63 one-bedroom units to low- and very-low-income seniors. Eight units will be available to the physically handicapped. The development’s second phase will create office space for service coordination, a wellness center, fitness center and a multi-purpose room. All residents will have access to a variety of social services. Bank: Univest National Bank & Trust. Sponsors: Advanced Living, Inc. and Fairmont Ventures.

“FHLBank and six of its members - Citizens Bank, Firstrust Bank, New Century Bank, PNC Bank, Sovereign Bank and Univest National Bank & Trust - are pleased to support affordable housing across Greater Philadelphia,” said Dave Buches, the Bank’s regional manager for Community Investment. “These eleven projects are just the latest examples of our ongoing efforts to help pave the way for more sustainable growth at the neighborhood level.”

Created by Congress in 1932, FHLBank Pittsburgh currently serves the needs of 334 member-owner financial institutions in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It provides them with a steady stream of liquidity in all economic cycles for homeownership as well as community and economic development. FHLBank is wholly funded with private capital, not taxpayer dollars.