Back

BOSTON — The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (the Bank) awarded nearly $2.0 million to fund 34 units of affordable rental housing in Stowe, Vermont. In all, 23 initiatives in New England received more than $18 million in grants, loans, and rate subsidies as part of the Bank’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP) to create or preserve 629 rental and ownership units for very low-, low-, and moderate-income individuals and families.

Each year, the Bank sets aside 10 percent of its net profits to provide grants and subsidized, below market-rate loans through the AHP. “The AHP is one way we help our member banks help their communities secure safe, decent, and affordable housing,” said Michael A. Jessee, the Bank’s president and chief executive officer. “This round helps a wide range of households throughout New England, from the homeless and elderly to the disabled and those fleeing domestic violence. We are proud to help make a difference in the lives of these families.”

Representative Peter Welch added, “The challenge of affordable housing in Vermont is extremely significant. Vermonters need access to affordable housing and it will require local community-based projects to tackle this important challenge.”

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (www.fhlbboston.com) is a cooperatively owned wholesale bank for housing finance in the six New England states. Its mission is to support the residential-mortgage and community-development lending activities of its members, which include over 460 financial institutions across New England. To accomplish its mission, the Bank utilizes private-sector capital to provide members and other qualified customers with reliable access to low-cost wholesale funds, liquidity, a competitive outlet for the sale of loans, special lending programs, technical assistance, and other products and services.

Information on the awards follows, and is also available at www.fhlbboston.com/ahp. For more information, see our backgrounder.

The Awards

	Location:	Stowe, Vermont
	Member:	Merchants Bank
	Sponsor:	Evergreen Communities, LLC
	Units:	34 rental units
	Subsidy:	$768,468 grant and subsidy, $1,225,000 advance
	Stowe Workforce Housing
	Construction of 34 rental units for workforce housing on land donated by Mount Mansfield, one of the largest local employers. The sponsor will partner with Lamoille Housing Partnership, a community-based nonprofit, in the development and ownership of this initiative. Sixteen units will be reserved for very low-income households and 18 will be affordable for households earning between 51 and 60 percent of the area median income. An additional six units will be rented at market rate. All residents will benefit from daycare, microbusiness-lending, family self-sufficiency, and job-matching services. The units will be accessible to mass transit and incorporate high-performance, energy-efficient features. Merchants Bank is providing construction and permanent financing using the AHP-subsidized advance, and other funding sources include Low Income Housing Tax Credits, sponsor equity, state HOME, and other state funding. Approved in Round One of the 2007 AHP.