AHP SUCCESS STORIES
Affordable Housing Grants to Assist in Creation of Special Needs Housing in New Jersey
In the current economic environment, many funding sources have all but vanished from the financial landscape. But the FHLBNY’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP) continues to serve as a significant source of funding for affordable housing initiatives across the region. This is not lost on Richard Motta, president and CEO of the Volunteers of America-Greater New York, which received two AHP grants earlier this year. “Given the markets, without these grants these projects probably wouldn’t have gone forward,” he said.
Through member-lender RSI Bank, Volunteers of America-Greater New York received a total of $425,000 in two grants to provide nearly 30 units of affordable housing in the New Jersey communities of Perth Amboy and Elizabeth. It marked the first time that Volunteers of America-Greater New York had tapped the FHLBNY’s AHP resource.
The AHP grants have been a vital source of funding for housing initiatives across economic cycles. Since the inception of the program in 1990, the FHLBNY has provided grants totaling more than $300 million to more than 1,100 projects, creating more than 44,000 units of affordable housing.
The Volunteers for America will use its grants to rehabilitate and renovate two buildings and convert them into affordable, supportive housing opportunities for residents with special needs. “There’s always an unsatisfied need for special needs housing,” said Mr. Motta.
RSI Bank partnered with the FHLBNY to provide the grants. “RSI Bank is proud of the role it plays as a community bank, helping Main Street America achieve the dream of home ownership,” said D. Russell Taylor, president of RSI Bank. “It is particularly rewarding to be able to work with great organizations such as the Volunteers of America and the FHLBNY in providing quality, affordable housing for lower income families.”
The work on these two projects continues, and Volunteers for America expects the homes to be at full capacity by the end of the fall. The AHP grants have provided the organization with the support it needs to be successful.
“This additional layer of funding is really necessary in today’s marketplace,” Mr. Motta said. “We were extremely pleased to have received it.”
AHP is a subsidy program in which funds are awarded through a competitive process to member lenders in support of projects that create and/or preserve housing for lower income families and individuals. For more information on the AHP program, or to see if the housing project you have in mind is eligible for AHP funding, contact us at (212) 441-6850 or ahp@fhlbny.com.
