AHP to Help Fund The Liberty at St. Bernard for Working Older Adults

Home Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) awarded a $750,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) subsidy to Building Blocks to help build an $18.6 million affordable apartment complex called The Liberty at St. Bernard in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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Bank officials visited the site where The Liberty at St. Bernard will be built. From left: Kelvin Luster, Home Bank senior vice president and community development director; Todd McDonald, Liberty Bank and Trust Co. board member and senior vice president of corporate strategy; Alden McDonald Jr., Liberty Bank and Trust Co. president and CEO; and John Zollinger IV, Home Bank senior vice president and director of Commercial Banking. (Photo: Business Wire)

Liberty Bank and Trust Co.’s (Liberty Bank) nonprofit development arm, Liberty Bank Community Development Corp. (Liberty Bank CDC), will partner with Minneapolis, Minnesota-based nonprofit Building Blocks to build the apartments, said Jaimmé Collins, general counsel and senior vice president of strategic initiatives at Liberty Bank, which donated the property.

The apartment community will be located along St. Bernard Avenue and will contain 62 rental units. Construction is expected to begin sometime during the first half of this year and take about two years, Ms. Collins said. The development will include services such as onsite visits from dentists, barbers and beauticians as well as empowerment and activity programs such as financial literacy, GED classes and dance lessons.

“The AHP funding was a vital piece in moving this development forward,” Ms. Collins said. “Receiving the AHP award brings us closer to providing this vital housing need to the community, and it is a marquee strategic initiative for us, as a bank, in our mission to continue serving Black and Brown people.”

Home Bank has supported dozens of affordable housing developments through the AHP over the years, said Kelvin Luster, Home Bank senior vice president and community development director.

“Building Blocks is nationally recognized for urban revitalization, and Liberty Bank CDC has respected local ties, so supporting their combined effort was a win-win,” he said. “We can’t wait to see the development unfold.”

AHP funds are intended to assist FHLB Dallas members in financing the purchase, construction and/or rehabilitation of owner-occupied, rental or transitional housing, and housing for homeless individuals. The funds must be used to benefit households with incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income for the area.

In 2021, FHLB Dallas awarded $18.5 million in subsidies to 26 affordable housing projects. The subsidies will help create 2,113 new or rehabilitated housing units, including $3 million for 323 units in Louisiana.

Between 1990 and 2021, FHLB Dallas has awarded $344.6 million in AHP and Homeownership Set-Aside Programs and has assisted nearly 60,000 households.

Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas, said Home Bank’s support of this project illustrates how AHP funding can improve the lives of community residents through safe and affordable housing.

“Home Bank’s commitment to funding affordable housing in the communities it serves via the AHP is a great example of how this program can provide gap funding that gets an invaluable project from conception to reality,” Mr. Hettrick said.

For more information about the AHP, visit fhlb.com/ahp.

About Home Bank

Home Bank, N.A., founded in 1908 as Home Building & Loan, is the oldest financial institution founded in Lafayette Parish. Through the years, we've expanded to serve markets in South Louisiana and Mississippi: Acadiana, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain, St. Martin and Jeff Davis Parishes, as well as Natchez and Vicksburg. With 40 locations across South Louisiana and Western Mississippi, Home Bank is committed to serving the needs of our communities. Personal banking has always been Home Bank’s trademark and that tradition continues as we grow, invest and serve our clients and community. We live our values each day, focusing on integrity, innovation and a commitment to serving others. For more information about Home Bank, visit www.home24bank.com.

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $60.2 billion as of September 30, 2021, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 800 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit our website at fhlb.com.

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We joined Home Bank in awarding $750K to Building Blocks to help build an $18.6M affordable apartment complex in New Orleans. Liberty Bank CDC will partner with Building Blocks on the project.