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BOSTON — The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (the Bank) awarded nearly $2.0 million as grants, a loan, and a rate subsidy to fund 67 units of affordable rental and ownership housing in Brunswick and Saco. More than half of the award was given in the form of a grant or subsidy. In all, 24 initiatives in eight states received more than $22.8 million as part of the Bank’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP) to create or preserve 816 rental and ownership units for very low-, low-, and moderate-income individuals and families.

Each year, the Bank commits 10 percent of its net profits to provide grants and subsidized, below market-rate loans through the AHP. “The awards will help stimulate economic development during these tough times,” said Michael A. Jessee, the Bank’s president and chief executive officer.“I commend our member banks for their efforts to increase the stock of decent affordable housing in our communities.”

Senator Olympia Snowe added, “As families across Maine struggle to afford decent housing and basic living necessities, these Affordable Housing Program funds will enable the communities of Saco and Brunswick to develop affordable housing units for low-income citizens. In these challenging economic times, I am pleased to see organizations like the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston invest in community development projects that will spur economic growth and improve public services.”  

AHP funds are used to create or preserve affordable housing and help pay construction, acquisition, or rehabilitation costs. Member financial institutions work with local developers to apply for AHP funding, awarded twice a year through a competitive scoring process. The application deadline for the first round of next year’s AHP awards is April 17, 2009.

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

The Awards

Location: Brunswick
Member: Bath Savings Institution
Sponsor: Greater Brunswick Housing Corporation
Units: 4 ownership
Subsidy: $72,000 grant
Hambleton Avenue. Construction of four energy-efficient units for very low- and low-income elderly and disabled home buyers. Midcoast Maine Community Action will provide daycare, daycare training, and job placement for the residents, and all home buyers will receive pre- and post-purchase homeownership counseling. Bath Savings Institution provides some of the permanent home-buyer mortgages.

Location: Saco
Member: Kennebunk Savings Bank
Sponsor: Commons Housing Corporation
Units: 63 rental
Subsidy: $796,458 grant and subsidy, $1.09 million advance
Country Village. Acquisition, infrastructure, and site improvements to preserve and expand a previously investor-owned mobile home park. Once improved, the park will convert to cooperative ownership, potentially becoming the first tenant-owned mobile home park in Maine. The initiative will upgrade the 22 existing homes and create 82 new unit pads, clustered in order to preserve much of the 54-acre site. Sixty-three units will be reserved for very low-income households and the balance for households below 100 percent of area median income. Each tenant will have a voting membership in the cooperative, participate in a residents council, and help bring the cooperative structure to fruition. Kennebunk Savings Bank provides construction and permanent financing through the AHP-subsidized advance. Other funding comes from the Genesis Loan Fund, Maine State Department of Economic and Community Development, and Maine Housing.