Fattah Announces $844,176 in Affordable Housing Grants for Four Nonprofits in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, PA – November 23, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA-02) today invoked rock ‘n roll legend Junior Walker and the All-Stars as he announced the award of $844,176 in grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLBank) to four new affordable housing projects in Germantown, North and West Philadelphia.

The grants, made under FHLBank’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP), will help provide much-needed housing to seniors, the homeless, individuals recovering from substance abuse and women who are transitioning to the community from prison. Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, PNC Bank and Sovereign Bank championed the projects announced today and will deliver the grants to the sponsors.

Your lover may give you a thrill, but it doesn’t pay your bills, the Congressman declared with a smile, channeling Junior Walker during ceremonies at the NewCourtland Education Center on the campus of the Germantown Home in Mount Airy. He thanked FHLBank Pittsburgh for bringing “millions and millions of dollars into Philadelphia for these projects over the years. This is when you realize who your true friends are.”

Today’s grants are the first to be made in Philadelphia as part of the 20th Anniversary celebration of AHP, created by Congress in August of 1989 to expand the supply of  rental and for-purchase housing to lower-income individuals and families, including those with special needs. The nation’s 12 FHLBanks are private cooperatives owned by local lenders that use private, not taxpayer funds, in support of their mission. 

“This is a wonderful milestone for FHLBank, and more importantly, for the communities it has served during the last 20 years,” said Congressman Fattah, who served as keynote speaker. “By using private capital, the Federal Home Loan Bank makes it possible for a variety of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods to continue their progress in providing a basic human need to thousands of men, women and children across our great city.”

Fattah added, “I want to thank our friends at FHLBank in Pittsburgh. They have left their footprint of affordable housing sites all across Philadelphia and the 2nd Congressional District and they are back today with more good news for our most underserved residents.” 

Over the life of AHP, the program has contributed approximately $43 million to affordable housing projects in Greater Philadelphia. The four projects receiving funding today (all developed and named by their sponsoring nonprofits) are:

A Place for New Directions for Women ($250,000 grant) for 4969 Wakefield Street, Germantown. Rental housing for women eligible for early parole from prison by providing transitional housing for 36 single, special needs individuals. Sponsor New Directions for Women with PNC Bank.

Fattah Homes II ($94,176) in the 3900 block of Brandywine Street, West Philadelphia.  Six units for chronically homeless families will serve six women and up to 22 children. Sponsor People’s Emergency Center Community Development Corporation and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. 

Gaudenzia Thompson Street Apartments ($250,000) for six units for homeless families in the 1800 block of West Thompson Street, North Philadelphia. Sponsor Gaudenzia Foundation Inc. with Sovereign Bank.

Sartain Apartments ($250,000) for 35-unit complex for seniors in the 3000 block of West Oxford Street in Strawberry Mansion section of North Philadelphia. Sponsor NewCourtland Elder Services with PNC Bank. 

“The Affordable Housing Program takes the form of gap funding, meaning that many times, our grants provide the final piece of the funding puzzle necessary to complete a project,” explained John Bendel, director of Community Investment for FHLBank Pittsburgh, who spoke at today’s event. “Our private funds are used in combination with other funding programs such as the Low-income Housing Tax Credit, HOME and the Community Development Block Grant program to get needed housing off the ground.”

FHLBank Pittsburgh provides a steady stream of low-cost liquidity to its local member-owners in support of housing finance and community and economic development. FHLBank is privately funded and capitalized and uses no taxpayer dollars. At September 30, 2009, the Bank had 317 members across its district of Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia and approximately $67 billion in assets.