Florida Community Loan Fund awarded $3.5 million for low-income communities
Two awards from U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund will spur community development and increase access to healthy foods statewide.
Florida Community Loan Fund (FCLF) will invest $3.5 million in new construction, rehabilitation, and expanding access to fresh and healthy food in low-income communities.
The $3.5 million combines two awards from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund: $2 million in Financial Assistance plus $1.5 million for Healthy Foods Financing Initiative (HFFI). FCLF's is the largest of the 5 Florida organizations to receive an award through this competitive process. Since its first award in 1998, FCLF has secured $10.4 million in CDFI Awards and an additional $206 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Awards.
Florida Community Loan Fund financing has supported a total of $735 million in projects statewide over 20 years, providing more than 3700 housing units and 1.5 million square feet of community facilities; and creating over 8,000 jobs.As the 3rd most populous state, Florida’s need for affordable housing and social services in low-income neighborhoods continues to grow. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a Florida household would need to work 126 hours per week at minimum wage to afford the fair market rent (no more than 30% of income for housing).
“Our 20 years of history and extensive knowledge of Florida communities established Florida Community Loan Fund as a leader in community development,” said FCLF CEO Ignacio Esteban. “The CDFI award augments our current financing to help build strong communities and allows us expandour young but promising healthy food financing initiative which aims to increase access to fresh foods in food deserts.”
An emphasis on preserving affordable housing is not new for Florida Community Loan Fund. In 2014 FCLF was one of 3 awardees of the Wells Fargo NEXT Opportunity Award for its work in keeping rental housing affordable. To date FCLF has financed over 1,600 units of multifamily rental housing, including 144 units with West Palm Beach Housing Authority, and 100 units in Orange County with Orlando Neighborhood Improvement Corporation. In addition, FCLF financing has supported over 1,000 single family homes and over 1,000 supportive housing units which include support services.
To read this press release on PRNewswire, click here.
To read the CDFI Fund press release and learn more about award recipients, click here.
About Florida Community Loan Fund. Florida Community Loan Fund (FCLF) is a statewide, nonprofit, multifaceted financing entity providing flexible capital and expertise to high-impact projects in low-income communities. FCLF became Florida’s first certified statewide Community Development Financial Institution in 1996, was certified as a CDE in 2003, and in 2014 was one of three U.S. Community Development Financial Institutions awarded the national Wells Fargo NEXT Opportunity Award which recognizes mission-driven community lenders with innovative strategies to preserve and expand affordable housing. As a lending institution, FCLF’s borrowers include non-profits and for-profit mission-focused developers, housing authorities, a wide range of social service organizations, and community health centers. Investors and supporters of FCLF include financial institutions, corporations, foundations, religious investors from various denominations, and federal and state government.
