OHIO HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY APPROVES $4.2 MILLION FOR THREE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS THROUGHOUT OHIO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2005

Columbus, OH -- Lieutenant Governor Bruce Johnson today announced that the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), a division of the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD), approved $1.1 million in Housing Development Assistance Program (HDAP) Loans, $100,000 for a seed money loan and $3 million in Equity Bridge Loans for three rental housing projects in Ohio. The funds will be used to construct or rehabilitate 115 rental-housing units for low- and moderate-income Ohioans.

“This funding opens up many affordable rental housing opportunities for hundreds of low- and moderate-income Ohioans and their families around the state,” said Johnson, who also serves as State Development Director. “It’s important that we continue to provide financial assistance to meet the demand for affordable housing in communities throughout Ohio.”

OHFA’s HDAP provides financial assistance to developers to help assist them in rehabilitating and developing affordable housing for low- and moderate-income Ohioans. Funding for it is available through federal HOME and state Housing Trust Fund dollars. OHFA’s Housing Development Loan Program provides Direct Loans, Equity Bridge Loans, Construction Deposit Loans, and seed money loans to lower development costs of low- and moderate-income housing. Funds are provided through Ohio’s unclaimed funds program.

The recipients for funding are:

Falls Manor, Falls Township (Muskingum County) – Zanesville Homes Partners II, Ltd. will receive a $1 million Equity Bridge Loan at a 2 percent rate over a 10-year term to construct a 32-unit housing project located at Kopchak Road and West Pike in Falls Township. Twelve units will be affordable to households at or below 50 percent of the Area Median Gross Income (AMGI), and the remaining 20 units will be affordable to households at or below 55 percent of the AMGI. Twenty percent of the units will be set-aside for households with a mobility and/or sensory impaired member. The project will be focused toward renting to households 55 years and older. The developer of this more than $4.9 million project is LEADS.

McKinley Commons, West Milton (Miami County) – CAP of the Greater Dayton Area will receive a $550,000 HPAP Loan at a 2 percent rate over a 35-year term, and New McKinley Commons, Ltd. will receive a $1 million Equity Bridge Loan at a 2 percent rate over a 10-year term to acquire and rehabilitate 33 units of elderly housing located at 240 South Main Street in West Milton. Nine of the units will be affordable to households at 44 percent of the AMGI, and 24 units will be affordable at 47 percent of the AMGI. All of the units will be available to households 55 years and older. The developer of this more than $3.8 million project is Fairfield Homes, Inc.

Quail Meadow, Fostoria (Wood County) – Seneca County Commission on Aging, Inc. will receive a $550,000 HDAP Loan at a 2 percent rate over a 40-year term, and Woda Quail Meadow, LLC will receive a $100,000 seed money loan for one year interest-free and a $1 million Equity Bridge Loan at a 2 percent rate over a 10-year term to construct 50 units of rental housing at Stearns Road in Fostoria. Twenty-four of the units will be affordable to households at or below 43 percent of the AMGI, and the remaining 26 units will be affordable to households at 48 percent of the AMGI. All of the units will be available to households 55 years of age and older. The developer of this more than $6.2 million project is Woda Development of Ohio, LLC.

OHFA offers affordable housing opportunities for Ohioans, from rental assistance to homeownership. OHFA also provides access to financial resources for the development and management of safe, sanitary and affordable housing. The Agency's programs serve first-time homebuyers, renters, senior citizens and other populations with special needs who otherwise might not be able to afford quality housing. Controlled by a board appointed by the Governor, OHFA is a division of the ODOD. OHFA administers its programs through five offices: Administration; Finance; Homeownership Programs; Planning, Preservation and Development; and Program Compliance. The Agency's continued success is a result of the solid partnerships it has established with investment banking firms, developers, private investors, lenders, realtors, nonprofit organizations and homebuyers.