New Atlanta Loan Fund Established

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THE CITY OF ATLANTA, GA AND Enterprise Community Partners have announced a new $25.5 million funding source available to developers of affordable and mixed-income owner occupied, multifamily rental, and supportive housing projects.
         The new Atlanta Acquisition Pool offers below-market, short-term loans of up to $3 million. Loans may be used for the acquisition of land or buildings, loan carrying costs, purchase options, and various other pre-development expenses, including the costs of appraisals, market studies, architectural and engineering services, and even low-income housing tax credit application fees.
         The Atlanta Acquisition Pool is a partnership of the city of Atlanta, Atlanta Renewal Community, and Enterprise Community Partners (ECP). ECP will manage the pool through its Enterprise Community Loan Fund. The loan fund has been initially capitalized with $5 million from the city, $3.5 million from the Atlanta Community Renewal Authority (ACoRA), and investments of $6 million from Wachovia Corp., $6 million from Living Cities, and $5 million from SunTrust Bank. Enterprise also has committed $2 million.
         The Home Depot Foundation will provide $600,000 over three years for grants to support technical assistance and early pre-development loans to enable loan recipients to ensure their projects are healthy, energy efficient, and environmentally sustainable.
         Program features include loan terms of up to two years with the potential for two 90-day extensions, a fixed interest rate of 6.0%-7% set at closing, and limits of $3 million per loan and $5 million per sponsor.
         Eligible borrowers are nonprofit developers and joint ventures/partnerships between nonprofit developers and for-profit entities.
         Loans can be used for eligible expenses for affordable or mixed-income housing projects in the city of Atlanta. In a mixed-income rental project, low-income units must be affordable to households at or below 60% of area median income. For rental projects in neighborhoods where ACoRA funding is used, at least 30% of a project’s units must be affordable to low-income households.
         Applications are now being accepted from developers. Details: http://www.enterprisecommunity.org.