Congresswoman Capito Announces New Affordable Housing Funds for WV: More than $1.4 million in grants for 141 units in seven projects across the state

Charleston, WV – November 14, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (WV-02) announced today that affordable housing projects in Charleston, Fairmont, Martinsburg, Wayne, Wheeling, and White Sulphur Springs have been awarded more than $1.4 million in Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants.

Capito, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the House Financial Services Committee, was the keynote speaker at an awards ceremony in Charleston at which the grants were announced. The grants will help create 141 new or rehabilitated units of affordable housing to serve a variety of individuals and families including seniors, the homeless, and those recovering from substance dependency.

Also speaking at today’s event was Kelley Goes, State Director for U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV).

Today’s awards from the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) of Pittsburgh bring the total commitment of the AHP program in West Virginia to date to approximately $11.8 million and 1,512 affordable housing units. The AHP is administered by FHLBank with the assistance of local member financial institutions that help sponsors with their grant applications and disburse funding. West Virginia banks assisting today’s seven project recipients are Pendleton Community Bank, PNC Bank, United Bank, and WesBanco Bank.

“The need for affordable housing, especially special needs and rental housing, has never been greater,” said Congresswoman Capito. “I am pleased to again stand alongside FHLBank Pittsburgh and West Virginia financial institutions as we work together to increase the supply of affordable housing across our state.”

“AHP’s success results from identifying local needs and working with local partners to deliver resources that make life better for the less fortunate,” said Peter Knight, Director of Government Relations at FHLBank Pittsburgh, who also spoke at today’s event at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Charleston. “We commend all of the project sponsors for their dedication and hard work and the four member banks who are helping to bring these projects on line.”

AHP is one of the largest private sources of grant funds for affordable housing in the United States. Across the country, the twelve Federal Home Loan Banks, created by Congress during the Great Depression, serve a wide range of neighborhood needs. All AHP recipients must have incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median income. Nationally, the FHLBanks have awarded more than $4 billion in funding to date.

FHLBank Pittsburgh provides a steady stream of low-cost liquidity to local lenders in support of housing finance and community and economic development. FHLBank is privately funded and capitalized and uses no taxpayer dollars. At September 30, 2011, the Bank had 300 financial institution members in its cooperative and approximately $47 billion in assets.

Funded Projects
Fountainhead Apartments 1 and 2
Martinsburg, WV

Member:
PNC Bank

Sponsor:
West Virginia Preservation Associates, LLC

Total Units: 80
Total AHP Grants: $250,000
Total Development Costs: $7,509,027

This rehabilitation project involves a two-building, 80-unit general occupancy complex. The scope of repair work includes siding, gutters, doors, windows, lighting, carpets and the installation of energy efficient appliances. Site work also includes improvements to the parking lot, creation of a playground, upgraded landscaping and sidewalk repairs.

The Gertrude Flats Apartments
Wheeling, WV

Member:
WesBanco Bank

Sponsor:
Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless

Total Units: 18
Total AHP Grants: $209,319
Total Development Costs: $764,575

The Greater Wheeling Coalition will rehabilitate a recently purchased building that will house 18 homeless individuals with disabilities. This community-based project targets the hard-to-house chronically homeless and represents an alternative for those clients who cannot take part in transitional housing due to long-term disability.

Focused on individuals with incomes of less than 30 percent AMI, services will be provided to clients in a more than century-old three-story property originally designed for multi-family use, making it ideally suited for a rehab project. The Greater Wheeling Coalition menu of services includes individual counseling, employability training and educational services.

Mainstreet Fairmont Border Communities Rehab Program
Fairmont, WV

Member:
United Bank

Sponsor:
Fairmont Housing Authority

Total Units: 8
Total AHP Grants: $117,528
Total Development Costs: $122,528

Fairmont Housing Authority is pursuing an owner-occupied rehab program that targets homeowners in the small neighborhoods that border Main Street Fairmont. The area includes Maple/Ogden, Jackson Addition, and a small enclave off Spring Street.

The Housing Authority’s plan is to target eight blighted properties with modest repairs that can bring them up to code, providing increased accessibility and habitability. Many homes need roofs, windows, gutters, foundation work, electrical upgrades, new heating units and basic safety features.

Old Dollar General Building Project
Wayne, WV

Member:
United Bank

Sponsor:
Wayne County Housing Authority

Total Units: 5
Total AHP Grants: $250,000
Total Development Costs: $747,700

This project will eliminate a brownfield site in downtown Wayne adjacent to the courthouse. In its place, a rehabbed building will provide five affordable multi-family rental units, create a community empowerment center focusing on life skills available to all Wayne County residents, and develop a permanent office for the Housing Authority of Wayne County and for Coalfield Development Corporation. The Old Dollar General project will also serve as a catalyst for further revitalization while offering job training opportunities for area unemployed.

Rental housing will be located on the upper level while the majority of ground floor space will be dedicated to the empowerment center. A smaller portion at ground level will house a cooperative artisan storefront.

Rea of Hope Fellowship Home
Charleston, WV

Member:
United Bank

Sponsor:
Rea of Hope Fellowship Home

Total Units: 6
Total AHP Grants: $250,000
Total Development Costs: $445,200

The sponsor will purchase two properties at 204 and 206 Beauregard Street next door to Rea of Hope New Life Apartments. The 204 property will include four units for women in recovery from alcohol or drug addiction. The 206 facility will provide two apartments for graduates of the recovery program, allowing them when possible to be reunited with their children. This will allow the successful graduates to serve as role models, providing motivation for the new residents in the program.

Rea of Hope has maintained a waiting list for four years and has only been able to admit 28 percent of women seeking services since July 2007 due to a limited number of beds. The sponsor serves women 18 years and older in recovery from alcohol addiction, drug addiction, or both.

Summer Elms Phase II
White Sulphur Springs, WV

Member:
Pendleton Community Bank

Sponsor:
Almost Heaven Habitat for Humanity

Total Units: 5
Total AHP Grants: $75,000
Total Development Costs: $731,750

Phase II of this project will consists of the construction of five single-family homes on one-half of a city block. Using the time-tested Habitat model, partner families will invest sweat equity into their own and neighbors’ homes. Volunteer labor and donated supplies will help leverage construction efforts while keeping down costs. Almost Heaven Habitat recently expanded its activities into Greenbrier County, WV as the result of merging with another nonprofit.

Wayne County Community Service Organization
Wayne, WV

Member:
United Bank

Sponsor:
Wayne County Community Service Organization

Total Units: 19
Total AHP Grants: $250,000
Total Development Costs: $3,290,840

This rehabilitation project will create 18 one-bedroom apartments for seniors and one unit for a manager. The three-story, 30,000-square-foot facility is in a community surrounded by single-family homes and offers amenities within walking distance, although a park and ride will also be located on the lower level of the site. On-site interior amenities will include a learning center, arts and crafts room, and senior citizens center. The project will increase the number of affordable units in the county for the elderly while eliminating and converting an abandoned property to more appropriate use.

Contact:
Jamie Corley, Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, 202-225-2711, cell: 202-450-9695;
Neil Cotiaux, FHLBank, 412-335-9488;