FHLBank Pittsburgh Awards $2.7 Million in Affordable Housing Program Grants

December 17, 2010

Pittsburgh, PA – December 17, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — The Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLBank) has approved $2.69 million in grants under its Affordable Housing Program (AHP). The grants will help finance 15 housing projects – one in Delaware, eight in Pennsylvania and six in West Virginia – creating 395 units of housing for very-low, low- and moderate-income individuals and families as well as those with special needs.

The ten rental and five homeownership projects approved for funding will serve a wide variety of recipients, including the chronically homeless, seniors, veterans, and individuals recovering from substance abuse.

Five of the funded projects are affiliated with some of FHLBank’s “Blueprint Communities” that receive financial or technical assistance as part of their community renewal initiatives. Blueprint Communities receiving funds today are Fairmont-Southside and McDowell in West Virginia; Tamaqua, PA; and the Tioga neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA.

“Although our earnings performance in 2009 reduced the amount of funds that could be set aside for the AHP this year, we are pleased to help support these very worthwhile projects and bring on-line nearly 400 units of much-needed affordable housing,” said FHLBank Pittsburgh’s President and Chief Executive Officer, John R. Price. “We are especially pleased that one-third of this year’s recipients hail from Blueprint Communities, which have already shown tremendous progress in their revitalization efforts. We also look forward to returning to more traditional levels of funding for the AHP, subject to future Bank earnings.”

AHP provides gap funding for many projects and remains especially valuable during periods of slow growth and tight credit. For a complete list of the grants awarded today, click here.

Administered by the country’s twelve FHLBanks, AHP is one of the largest private sources of grant funds for affordable housing in the United States. Since their first AHP funding rounds two decades ago, the FHLBanks have awarded more than $4 billion in combined funds for affordable housing projects.

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, 2010, the Bank had 314 members in its cooperative and approximately $55 billion in assets

Contact:
Neil Cotiaux, 412-288-2851, 412-335-9488;