NeighborWorks Waco Awarded $325,000 Affordable Housing Grant

Written by Chad Klawetter Tuesday, 16 August 2011 16:59

Waco, TX – NeighborWorks^® Waco announced that it was awarded a $325,000 affordable housing grant to acquire, rehab, and lease 13 properties to low and moderate-income tenants working towards homeownership.  NeighborWorks^® Waco is one of 115 local NeighborWorks organizations to receive $34.9 million in Capital Funding for the Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing (CFRAH) grants to rehabilitate or finance the rehabilitation of affordable housing nationwide, including smaller and rural communities with affordable housing needs.

“These capital grant funds are very helpful, as they will allow us to acquire 13 distressed homes in Waco and surrounding communities,” said Roy Nash, President and Chief Executive Officer of NeighborWorks^® Waco.   “The funds are then used as leverage funding to rehabilitate these homes and then lease them with an option for the tenant to later purchase them, as their financial condition improves.  Homes will be acquired for both low and moderate income budgets.”

The Capital Funding for the Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing (CFRAH) grants enable NeighborWorks^® Waco and other local small- and medium-size nonprofit businesses to develop, or continue to fund:

• Revolving loan funds for rehabilitation lending for owner-occupied property;
• Rehab of residential rental housing currently owned by local NeighborWorks organizations;
• Rehab of residential rental housing that is newly acquired or will be acquired by local NeighborWorks organizations;
• Rehab of single family homes that will be acquired or have been recently acquired by local NeighborWorks organizations and will be sold to homeowners.

As part of a total project investment of $1.5 million, the CFRAH funds are restricted to property rehabilitation - but will be the catalyst for the acquisition of 13 vacant properties in Waco over the next 9 months, stabilizing these neighborhoods, putting residents into otherwise vacant properties, and creating approximately 13 new jobs in the struggling construction market.

About The Capital Funding for the Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing Grants

The Capital Funding for the Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing grants were made possible through the Public Laws 111-142, 111-290, 111-317, 111-322, 112-4, 112-6 and 112-10 the final bill signed into law on April 15, 2011.  Just four months after the CFRAH funds were appropriated to NeighborWorks America, communities across our country are able to put the funds to immediate use.

Demand for these funds far exceeded the amount of funds available; eligible applicants requested over $53,000,000 in grant funds. A cap was placed on the amount of funds any one applicant could request; without this cap, the requested amount would have been much higher.

For more information about the capital grant please contact Chad Klawetter of NeighborWorks^® Waco at 254-752-1647 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

About NeighborWorks Waco

NeighborWorks^® Waco is a local non-profit organization dedicated to assisting Waco and McLennan County families in purchasing their first home. Since its inception in 1993, NeighborWorks^® Waco has worked to fulfill its mission to build stronger neighborhoods through homeownership by providing more than $1.8 million in down payment loans, assisting over 2,000 families in becoming homeowners, providing homebuyer and credit counseling for families, and spending more than $12 million in the Waco community to build or rehabilitate over 200 homes. The organization is a chartered member of the nationwide NeighborWorks^® Network, which is made up of more than 230 organizations that engage in revitalization strategies that strengthen communities and transform lives across the country. For additional information on NeighborWorks^® Waco, visit www.nw-waco.org.