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CalHFA HELP Awards $7.5 Million for Affordable Housing
By Alton Gary Simpson
The California Housing Finance Agency has awarded $7.5 million in funding to six California localities through its Housing Enabled by Local Partnerships program. CalHFA provides affordable housing opportunities through program partnerships with local government entities, consistent with their affordable housing priorities. Funding provides additional resources to address localities' unmet affordable housing needs by using a competitive process to award loans with repayment terms of up to 10 years at 3.5% simple interest.
"Through our HELP program, we offer local governments low-cost and flexible funding for use in creating more innovative affordable housing," said Theresa Parker, CalHFA executive director. "The HELP program makes it easy for localities to implement solutions for helping their citizen's move into the housing they need and can afford."
CalHFA's HELP program offers two funding cycles of approximately $7.5 million in the fall and spring of each year. Recipients of the semi-annual award are evaluated on six criteria: affordability, cost efficiency, maximization of benefits, implementation readiness, resource impact and comprehensiveness of program design. During this round of CalHFA HELP financing, the following six localities received funding commitments:
• HELP has awarded the Anaheim Housing Authority $1.25 million to establish a downpayment assistance program for homebuyers. By pooling HELP program funds with other sources of affordable housing money, the housing authority will assist homebuyers achieve homeownership through deferred interest downpayments. Homebuyers will also receive pre- and post-home purchase counseling, employment counseling and job training.
• CalHFA has given El Dorado County $1.5 million to assist with the financing of a revolving loan program for the development of affordable rental housing. The revolving loan program funds will be used for the development of two multifamily rental projects. The first project financed with HELP funds will be a 70-unit multifamily rental project serving households with very low and low incomes along with support services to address the needs of these residents.
• Mammoth Lakes received $1.5 million to establish a mortgage assistance program for homebuyers. The money will be used to assist homebuyers in achieving homeownership through deferred interest second mortgages. Homebuyers will also receive homeownership and loan application counseling.
• Pleasanton will establish a downpayment assistance program for first-time homebuyers with the $250,000 it gets from HELP. The city will use this money to assist homebuyers in achieving homeownership through low-interest second mortgages. Homebuyers will also receive financial training, credit and debt counseling prior to the close of escrow, and post-purchase training.
• The Roseville Redevelopment Agency has received $1.5 million to help finance the development of affordable rental units. The HELP funds will be used to assist with the development of 156 affordable residential units in a new multifamily rental complex within a master-planned subdivision to increase the availability of local affordable rental housing. Units will be occupied by tenants with low household incomes along with support services to address the needs of these residents.
• The San Buenaventura Redevelopment Agency was awarded $1.5 million to help finance the development of affordable rental units in the city of Ventura. Funds will be used to assist with the development of 69 affordable residential units in a new multifamily rental complex, which includes Artists Commons, a shared production and performance gallery, retail space and a large outdoor plaza. The complex will also include 13 market-rate condominiums. Affordable units will be occupied by tenants with very low and low incomes along with support services to address the needs of the residents.
Since 1998, CalHFA's HELP program has partnered with 104 local government entities to fund $166.6 million in low interest HELP loans to acquire, develop, rehabilitate or preserve affordable rental or ownership housing. To date, HELP funding has contributed to the financing of nearly 20,000 units of affordable housing for the Californians who are most in need.
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