Home Federal Bank and FHLB Dallas Provide $750K for Aging Housing Complex

San Benito’s Palmville Homes to get Major Rehab

SAN BENITO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Home Federal Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) have awarded a $750,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) subsidy to San Benito Housing Authority for a major rehabilitation of an aging public housing complex.

The subsidy will go toward an $18.2 million “to the studs” renovation and reconfiguration of Palmville Homes, a 100-unit public housing complex built in the 1960’s and 1970’s in San Benito, Texas. The duplex, tri-plex and four-plex buildings, which contain small efficiency apartments, will be reconfigured into 84 larger one- and two-bedroom apartments for residents, many of whom are older than 55 and have special needs.

“This renovation is impactful in many ways; it will include construction of a residential services facility where we will be able to offer English-as-a-second-language classes, GED classes, citizenship readiness assistance, financial literacy and afterschool children’s activities,” said Yvette Nieto, executive director of the San Benito Housing Authority.

Housing Solutions Alliance LLC (HSA) is San Benito’s development partner and has assisted many housing authorities with the redevelopment of public housing.

“The leveraging of this AHP subsidy with historic tax credits is a critical component for the long-term preservation of Palmville Homes,” said Art Schuldt, president of HSA.

Construction is expected to begin in April and be completed in June 2022.

“We are pleased to be part of a project that will positively impact so many lives and are grateful for FHLB Dallas’ Affordable Housing Program, which will help make these improvements possible,” said K. Matthew Sawrie, Home Federal Bank senior vice president.

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. AHP funds must be used to benefit households with incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income for the area.

For 2020, FHLB Dallas awarded $19.3 million in subsidies to 38 affordable housing projects. The subsidies will help create 2,749 new or rehabilitated housing units. Included in that total, is $10.2 million in subsidies for 1,475 units of housing in the state of Texas.

Since the AHP’s inception in 1990, FHLB Dallas has awarded more than $323 million in AHP and Homeownership Set-Aside Programs and has assisted more than 57,000 households.

Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas, said Home Federal Bank has a long history of investing in the communities where it operates.

“It’s always a pleasure to partner with a bank that is so vested in contributing to community revitalization,” Mr. Hettrick said. “We commend Home Federal Bank for the work it is doing in San Benito.”

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

About Home Federal Bank

Locally managed and headquartered in Shreveport, Louisiana since 1924, Home Federal Bank’s prudent and responsible business practices have kept us strong, stable and fully capitalized. HFB has successfully endured the test of time: becoming one of the first banks in northwest Louisiana to make loans; and becoming the first locally traded company on the NASDAQ during an ongoing global recession, which followed the financial crisis of 2007. For more information, visit hfbla.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 $66.3 billion as of September 30, 2020, 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.