Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago

06/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/08/2024 18:40

Community First August 2024 Newsletter

Empowering Our Members to Strengthen Their Communities Through Our Diverse Developer Initiatives

Lawndale Christian Development Corporation (LCDC) was established in 1987 to address health and wealth disparities in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago. Since then, LCDC has completed $120 million of building rehabilitation and construction, adding 500 units of affordable housing to the neighborhood. Their partnership with FHLBank Chicago member, First Eagle Bank, is contributing to their growing success. First Eagle Bank helped LCDC apply for a $220,700 grant through FHLBank Chicago's Community First ® Diverse Developer Initiative, enabling LCDC to provide compensation and training to two fellows working directly to support our shared commitment to affordable housing.

"Our goal is to build 1,000 homes for working people on the West and South sides of Chicago. It's an ambitious goal, and we need more staff to help us achieve it," says Richard Townsell, Executive Director of LCDC. "This support from FHLBank Chicago and First Eagle Bank will help us build a more well-rounded team that can carry out our mission."

View the full story in our 2023 Impact Report.

Community First® Diverse Developer Initiative

The Community First® Diverse Developer Initiative opens for applications on Monday, August 12. This competitive grant program provides nonprofit and for-profit organizations, in collaboration with FHLBank members, with funding for career and talent development initiatives supporting diverse developers of affordable housing in FHLBank Chicago's district of Illinois and Wisconsin. The deadline to apply is Friday, September 13. Visit our website to review the application and program guidelines.

2024 Downpayment Plus® Program Update

The 2024 Downpayment Plus® (DPP®) and Downpayment Plus Advantage® (DPP Advantage®) programs opened on January 16, 2024 and continue to provide members easy to access down payment and closing cost assistance to help their income eligible borrowers achieve homeownership. At the end of the second quarter of 2024, we have disbursed over $15 million in DPP grants to nearly 1,600 homebuyers.

2024 AHP General Fund Update

For 34 years, members of FHLBank Chicago have partnered with community developers and public agencies to apply for Affordable Housing Program (AHP) General Fund subsidies. These grants are awarded to the highest-scoring projects through a competitive process until the funds are exhausted. The 2024 AHP General Fund competitive round opened on Monday, May 6 and closed on Friday, June 14. It is anticipated that all applicants will be notified of the status of their application by late October. FHLBank Chicago expects to award approximately $48.8 million this year. We received a significantly higher number of high-quality applications than in recent years, and the amount requested far exceeds the amount available to grant. As a result, the competition for grants is exceptionally strong this year.

2024 Round Highlights

  • 44 members and 79 sponsors jointly submitted 115 applications.
  • Approximately $170 million in AHP General Fund subsidies were requested to support the construction, acquisition, and/or rehabilitation of more than 5,000 housing units.
  • The applications by project location were distributed between Illinois (46) and Wisconsin (65), plus three from outside the district.
  • 102 of the applications submitted are for rental projects and 13 are for homeownership projects.
  • The total development costs for the 115 projects are more than $1.8 billion.
  • The average subsidy per unit requested was $34,612.

In 2023, 61 applications requesting more than $43 million were submitted and $33 million was awarded.

Upcoming Events

August 12 - 15 | Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs | 2024 Midwest CDI Conference

August 15 | LISC Milwaukee | 2024 MANDI Awards

September 12 | Illinois Housing Council | Fall Mixer

September 18 | Mercy Housing Lakefront | Moving Forward Together

September 18 - 20 | Illinois Association of Housing Authorities | IAHA 2024 Annual Meeting

September 19 | Allies for Community Business | Toast to Community Business

October 10 | Diverse Developers Inc. | 2024 Diverse Developers Conference

October 17 - 18 | Housing Action Illinois | 2024 Housing Matters Conference