Tuesday, September 23, 2008

WHRF seeks more HOME funds to move Taft Road units

In an effort to move the final seven units of the Taft Road Townhomes development, the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation (WHRF) is asking for $70,000 in HOME funds from the City of Cincinnati.

Cincinnati City Council is considering an ordinance that would fund a homebuyer assistance program for the recently completed 12-unit project at William Howard Taft Road and Stanton Avenue for families whose household income does not exceed 80 percent of the area median income.

The funding would provide forgivable loans of $10,000 to any buyer of a Taft Road unit, credited to the down payment and closing costs, and forgiven at a rate of $2,000 per year over a five-year period.

The City has already provided $729,133 in HOME funds to cover construction costs for the project.

Disbursed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the HOME program provides approximately $2 billion in federal grants annually to states and communities to help build, buy, or rehabilitate affordable housing for rent or homeownership for people of low income.