BENTON, Ark., June 21, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Habitat for Humanity of Saline County, Arkansas, (HFH Saline County) will complete eight additional homes for very low-income, first-time homebuyers within its Partnership Village development with the help of a $79,643 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant.
The AHP grant, awarded by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) through the Bank of the Ozarks (a member institution), will be used to offset the infrastructure costs for the homes, thereby further lowering the costs to the homebuyers. Some of the infrastructure costs include widening roads, and adding curbs and sidewalks.
This is the fourth AHP grant HFH Saline County has received from FHLB Dallas.
"The AHP grants are very instrumental to what we do. We are incurring a lot of infrastructure costs since we started Partnership Village that we have not had to deal with in the past," said Karma Herzfeld, executive director of HFH Saline County. "Since we acquired this large piece of land we've had to put in the infrastructure ourselves. If we charged that cost to the families, it would make the homes unaffordable for them. The grants really do keep the homes affordable for our partner families."
Partnership Village is a neighborhood consisting only of Habitat homes. HFH Saline County is constructing the homes on a 12-acre site that was donated to the organization. Currently 23 families reside within the development, and HFH Saline County plans to expand that number to 65 families over the next five to 10 years.
HFH Saline County worked with Bank of the Ozarks to obtain the grant.
"We have enjoyed our past relationship with HFH Saline County and look forward to another successful phase of the Partnership Village," said Bank of the Ozarks Community Development Officer Eric Gustafson.
Each year, FHLB Dallas returns 10 percent of its profits to the communities served by its member institutions in the form of AHP grants. In 2010, FHLB Dallas awarded a total of $18.5 million in AHP grants, including $1.5 million in Arkansas to assist 187 households. Six of those grants, totaling nearly $585,000, were issued through Bank of the Ozarks to assist 140 households. In 2011, FHLB Dallas has made $10.5 million in AHP grant funding available through its members. Grant recipients will be announced this summer.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 12 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $33.2 billion as of March 31, 2011, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to more than 900 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas. For more information, visit the FHLB Dallas website at fhlb.com.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas logo is available at
About Bank of the Ozarks
Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. is a bank holding company with $3.3 billion in total assets as of March 31, 2011 and trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "OZRK". The Company owns a state-chartered subsidiary bank that conducts banking operations through 114 offices in Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama. The Company may be contacted at (501) 978-2265 or P. O. Box 8811, Little Rock, Arkansas 72231-8811. The Company's website is: .
CONTACT: Corporate Communications Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas www.fhlb.com (214) 441-8445
