'A Dream Come True' for Stamford's HDF
June 30, 2006; As originally appeared in The Commercial
Record by Katie Curnutte
Less
than a month after designating $10 million to the state Housing
Trust Fund, Gov. M. Jodi Rell last week announced that a nonprofit
bank that provides gap financing and homebuyer assistance
programs has received the largest chunk of the money.
The
Stamford-based Housing Development Fund received a $3 million
grant from the Housing Trust Fund, a $100 million, five-year
fund designed to help create or preserve housing for low-
and moderate-income working families by providing gap financing.
“We
are thrilled with the in- fusion of public-sector resources
that are corning at a critical time in meeting the need for
affordable housing,” said HDF Executive Director Joan
Carty in a prepared statement. ‘We have long had investment
of significant sums from the private sector, and now with
this real public-private partnership, we stand to make an
even greater impact. HDF is grateful to the governor and all
the legislators particularly our local delegation who had
the will and the vision to establish the Housing Trust Fund.
It’s a dream come true.”
'A
Huge Effort'
The money will be used to provide down payment assistance
to first-time homebuyers and will provide gap financing for
affordable multifamily rentals and supportive housing in Fairfield
County and other parts of southwestern Connecticut. The BLIP
estimates the $3 million will help between 90 and 110 households
become homeowners or rent affordable units.
The
HDF plans to put $1 million of the grant toward providing
down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers. The bank
estimates it will add 60 to 70 additional households to the
450 that are already assisted by the HDF’s “Adopt-A-House”
first-time homebuyer down payment assistance program.
The
Adopt-A-House loan assists with down payments and closing
costs of up to $10,000 through an interest-free loan secured
by a subordinate mortgage on the property according to the
HDF’s Web site. To be eligible, potential homebuyers
must be purchasing a home in the areas surrounding Stamford,
Norwalk, Danbury and Bridgeport, and the total household income
should not exceed $91,200, regardless of family size.
The
remaining $2 million from the Housing Trust Fund grant will
provide gap financing for 30 to 40 new multifamily rental
and supportive housing units. The HDF expects the money to
leverage millions more. The HDF already manages almost $50
million in affordable housing funding from a pool of 17 banks
and other resources.
The
HDF was founded in 1989. The bank runs other programs, such
as the SmartMove Homeownership Fund, a $9 million second-mortgage
fund, which it launched in 2004. Five banks committed money
for the fund. CitiMortgage will provide $5 million over three
years for the fund and the Bank of New York First County Bank,
People’s Bank and the Savings Bank of Danbury each committed
$1 million over the three years.
The
organization also provides homebuyer education classes and
homeownership counseling with one-on-one support. Along with
HDF’s requirement that its financing be linked only
to traditional, fixed-rate mortgage products, its programs
have led to unprecedented stability in its portfolio. Carty
did not return phone calls looking for more details about
the organization.
Rell
signed the Housing Trust Fund into law last year.
“The
$100 million Housing Trust Fund was created to address the
critical need for more affordable housing in Connecticut,”
she said in a prepared statement when this year’s recipients
were announced last week. “Today’s announcement
signals the start of these funds ‘hitting the streets’
and making a real difference in the lives of Connecticut workers
and their families. These seven funding recipients, with their
proven track records of excellence in serving their clients
and communities, are an important part of the solution of
affordable housing in Connecticut, and it is our expectation
that we will begin to feel the impact of this $10 million
investment in their programs in the months and years ahead.”
According
to Sen. Bob Duff, who represents Norwalk and Darien, the Housing
Trust Fund was designed to be flexible in order to meet a
variety of affordable housing needs throughout the state.
“It’s
exciting to see the Housing Trust Fund legislation put into
practice and used in the way we envisioned,” he said
in a prepared statement. “It took a huge effort by many
legislators and State Treasurer Diane Nappier, and it’s
good to see it being implemented by HDF and the other recipients
in a really
meaningful way that will help first-time buyers and renters
in our area.”
Other
recipients of the Housing Trust Fund include the Greater New
Haven Community Loan Fund, which received $1.75 million for
a regional gap-financing pool and gap financing for owner-
occupied rehabilitations for code compliance and handicapped
accessibility; the Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven,
which received $300,000 for a home maintenance and energy
conservation program; the Bristol Development Authority, which
received $400,000 for a community-wide rehabilitation program;
the Corporation for Independent Living in Wethersfield, which
received $1.5 million for grants for a statewide accessibility
tenant program; the Connecticut CDFI Alliance, which received
$1.2 million for a statewide, affordable-housing gap-financing
program; and the Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity, which
received $1.85 million for its 20th Anniversary Project, which
calls for the construction of 200 homes statewide by 2009.
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