WASHINGTON, DC - The National Trust Loan Fund has created a $5 million loan pool to help develop affordable housing in cities across the country, including Miami. The loan fund, made possible through a $1.3 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, targets 26 communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers, as well as Gulfport, Miss., and Pontiac, Mich.
Preference will be given to eight cities, including Miami, that participated in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Preservation Development Initiative, also funded by the Knight Foundation.
Eligible borrowers include community development corporations, nonprofit organizations and for-profit developers and local, state or regional government agencies.
Projects must focus on the acquisition and rehabilitation of multiple single-family, multifamily or mixed-use projects, including upper-floor conversions to residential uses.
Prospective properties should be designated as national, state or local historic structures, a contributing resource in a designated historic district or be eligible for such designation. The maximum loan amount is up to $500,000 per project.
The National Trust Loan Fund has more than 35 years of experience in supporting preservation-based community development projects across the country. As a certified Community Development Financial Institution, it has a mission of providing financial and technical resources to organizations that use historic preservation to support the revitalization of underserved and distressed communities.
Source: South Florida Business Journal