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CDC board approves partnership with Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta to seek housing financing
Summary
The Gullah Geechee Historic Neighborhoods CDC voted to authorize staff to enter the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta application process to pursue housing-related programs; one board member recorded opposition and members asked for project-specific reviews before any commitment.
The Gullah Geechee Historic Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation board voted to authorize staff to pursue programs with the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of Atlanta, a step staff said will put the CDC "in the queue" for lending and subsidy programs that could support future housing projects.
Executive Director Thomas Boxley told the board the resolution and accompanying incumbency certificate are standard FHLB documents that do not bind the CDC to any specific project but allow the organization to apply for products such as down-payment assistance, construction loans and secondary financing when a project is brought to the board for approval. "This resolution gives us the opportunity to move forward with the application process," Boxley said.
Town attorney representative Richardson LaBruce, who reviewed the materials for the board, described the forms as boilerplate and non-binding at the program-selection stage. Drawing on prior experience, LaBruce said relationships with local member banks and the FHLB can ease financing for housing developments when projects are ready for underwriting.
Board members asked detailed questions about which FHLB programs the CDC should pursue, the need to select a limited set of priority projects and potential liability or oversight obligations once a project is advanced. Councilwoman Belinda Turner said the resolution's broad language made her uncomfortable and pressed for clarity on program selection, safeguards and risk. Turner recorded opposition to the final vote on the resolution, while other board members urged entering the FHLB application process so the CDC would be prepared when a project is identified.
The board chair put the motion on the floor; the motion carried. Boxley and staff said any specific FHLB application or loan would return to the board for project-level approval and due diligence.
The board also discussed local banking partners and said staff had begun cultivating relationships with potential member banks to support FHLB applications. Boxley named a local contact (Optus Bank) as an example of a member-bank relationship the CDC will continue to develop.
The board adjourned at the close of the meeting.
