Participating in the dedication ceremony for the AHP-funded Buckingham Place initiative in Nashua, New Hampshire were, from the left: Veteran Ken Lombardi; Philip Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council to End Homelessness; Peter Kelleher, president and CEO of sponsor Harbor Homes, Inc.; Tom Arnold, president of Harbor Homes’ board of directors; William P. Hamilton, senior vice president at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston; Lori Piper, vice president at member Merrimack County Savings Bank; and veteran Rodney Ford. The new three-story facility provides 20 apartments for very low-income, homeless veterans.

By Lily Bryant

In the second funding round of the 2006 Affordable Housing Program (AHP), the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (the Bank) awarded more than $13.2 million in grants, loans, and rate subsidies to fund 16 initiatives. These projects will result in 377 units of affordable housing across New England.

Thirteen of the 16 approved developments will create or preserve 367 rental units, while the remaining three will create 10 homeownership units. The average subsidy per approved application was $376,728, an increase from last round’s average of $308,113.

This round included an initiative to build a new 90-unit mixed-income senior development in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. With 80 affordable units and 10 market-rate units, the project will also incorporate smart-growth elements including land reuse, access to mass transit, and meeting minimum LEED requirements.

In Kennebunk, Maine, a historic vacant elementary school will be reused to create 28 affordable rental units. This rural initiative will also meet the green-design standards of the Maine State Housing Authority.

The application period for the first AHP round of 2007 closes on April 27, 2007, at 5:00 p.m. Applications must be submitted electronically through the Bank’s web site, www.fhlbboston.com. T