Flagship Capital Grant Program Advances Housing Access for Low-Income, First-Time Homebuyers

Washington, D.C., Dec. 30, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Two shared-equity housing programs will receive strategic partnership engagement, technical assistance and financial support to produce affordable housing and mixed-use assets in targeted New York (NY) and San Francisco (CA) neighborhoods, announced today by Citi Community Development and Grounded Solutions Network as part of its $1 million Citi/Grounded Solutions Network Community Land Trust (CLT) Accelerator Fund.

Selected from a competitive evaluation process, Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) of New York City and Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) of San Francisco join 2018 CLT Accelerator grantee organizations the Community Land Trust of Palm Beach (FL) County and Homes4Families of Los Angeles (CA) to promote and progress affordable homeownership opportunities at scale for local, low-income families color experiencing a significant risk of displacement.

 

“New York and San Francisco are extremely expensive cities to live in, with far too many families being pushed out of the neighborhoods they have long called home,” said Bob Annibale, Global Director of Citi Community Development and Inclusive Finance. “Community land trusts are specifically designed to address these challenges, and CLTs can scale-up to build inclusive, diverse and stable neighborhoods that both city leaders and local residents can equally value.”

 

Celebrated for addressing affordable housing challenges facing urban, rural, and suburban communities nationwide, Grounded Solutions Network offers technical assistance, peer learning and program support for CLT Accelerator grantees, holding over 30 distinct learning events reaching over 3,000 people during its Citi Community Development partnership

 

 “We must build awareness of the shared-equity model’s wealth-creation potential for communities – specifically communities of color – and the CLT Accelerator Fund helps us do that,” added Grounded Solutions CEO Tony Pickett, citing how the median shared equity household accumulates $14,000 in earned equity (compared to a median initial investment of $1,875), and nearly 6 out of 10 shared equity homeowners use their earned equity to later purchase a traditional market-rate home.

 

“Shared-equity models increasingly provide homeownership opportunities to lower-income families, and any serious attempt at taking on this growing racial wealth divide must include a solution for lasting affordability.

Community Land Trusts can be part of that solution.”

 

 With CLT Accelerator Fund assistance:

• UHAB will support the conversion of 45-14 42^nd Street, a four-story, 20-unit walk-up building in Sunnyside, Queens – with 12 of 20 units currently occupied by a mix of South Asian and Latino immigrant families –into shared-equity housing as part of Interboro CLT, a new model for permanently affordable homeownership established through a partnership of area nonprofit organizations.

• MEDA will support 2205 Mission, a mixed-use for-sale residential/community facility project comprised of approximately 63 below-market-rate residential condominiums, a community-serving early childhood education center, and performing-arts educational space. Building on an established history of successes in affordable rental and community development, 2205 will be MEDA’s first shared-equity homeownership project.

“Located in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in New York City, this Sunnyside co-op presents a unique opportunity for minority communities to collectively own and operate their housing in an increasingly unaffordable city,” noted UHAB Executive Director Andrew Reicher. “The Accelerator Fund allows us to bring the permanent affordability and stewardship of a CLT, and help us reach deeper affordability levels for both existing and future incoming residents.”

"MEDA looks to create a shared-equity model for reversing the trend of people of color being displaced from high-cost neighborhoods such as the Mission District,” explained MEDA Director of Community Real Estate Karoleen Feng. “This model will be grounded in tried-and-true solutions and will support our nonprofit's wealth-building strategies, while concurrently ensuring permanently affordable homeownership in San Francisco."

To date, the Citi/Grounded Solutions Network CLT Accelerator Fund has awarded $650,000 in capital grants, supporting the creation of 147 homeownership units with lasting affordability.

About Grounded Solutions Network

A national nonprofit membership organization, Grounded Solutions Network supports shared equity housing programs with capacity-building resources, inclusive housing policy development, strategic planning, peer learning, technical assistance, training and programmatic support. Members now include over 230 nonprofit organizations and public agencies throughout the country.

About Citi Community Development

Citi Community Development leads Citi's commitment to achieving financial inclusion and economic empowerment for underserved individuals, families and communities by working with nonprofit and public agencies across the country to expand access to financial products and services, build sustainable business solutions and forge innovative partnerships.

 

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Brandon Frazier
Grounded Solutions Network
(503) 493-1000 ext. 4
bfrazier@groundedsolutions.org