Ohio Apartment Complex to Be Refurbished with Recovery Act Funding
An aging affordable housing complex in Warren, Ohio is the first federal stimulus redevelopment project in the country to access Recovery Act funding from the U.S. Treasury’s Housing Finance Agency Initiative.
Warren, Ohio—An aging affordable housing complex in Warren, Ohio is the first federal stimulus redevelopment project in the country to access Recovery Act funding from the U.S. Treasury’s Housing Finance Agency Initiative. The Hampshire House Apartments project is made possible through a public-private partnership, including additional investment from Huntington Bank.
The 150-unit subsidized rental development, originally built in Warren in the 1970s, will receive nearly $12 million in improvements, supported by $5.6 million in Recovery Act funding from the Treasury’s HFA Initiative, issued as bonds by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA).
Additionally, Huntington’s Community Development Corporation, a division of Huntington Bank, invested $3.4 million in tax credit equity through the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, supporting the Hampshire House project. Further public and private sources support the remainder of financing for the $12 million project.
“We are an active investor in affordable housing in the markets we do business in,” says Joe Molnar, managing director of the Huntington Community Development Corporation.
Hampshire House improvements will include new kitchens and baths, and upgrades to common areas, community facilities, windows, roofing and elevators. The upgrades mean that Hampshire House Apartments are now well-positioned for another 15 to 20 years, Molnar says.
Co-owner and developer Renewal Housing Associates successfully applied to OHFA for the $5.6 million in New Issue Bond Program funds, creating the first stimulus-funded government secured mortgage in the country, securitized by Ginnie Mae, the Government National Mortgage Association.
Forest City Enterprises generated the Ginnie-Mae-backed, Housing and Urban Development-insured loan through a lending subsidiary. OHFA and the Warren city government jointly supported the transaction by providing a bridge loan, bridging $1.5 million of the tax credit equity investment provided by Huntington’s Community Development Corporation through the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing.
OHFA still has approximately $21 million from the Treasury’s HFA initiative, and Huntington Bank will continue to look for opportunities to invest in affordable housing, Molnar says.
