NAHT and Woodforest National Bank Team up to Support Affordable Housing for Low-Income Residents

Columbus, OH. November 16, 2021. National Affordable Housing Trust (NAHT) is excited to announce we have recently closed on a revolving line of credit with Woodforest National Bank® (Woodforest) to continue advancing its mission to build, protect and preserve safe, quality affordable housing for low-income residents across the country.

The new capital will enable NAHT to offer equity bridge loans to its developer partners for Low‐Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) awarded mission‐driven quality affordable housing with resident‐focused solutions. The first project supported was to Charlotte-based developer Laurel Street for pre-development costs related to their South Meadows new construction partnership in Rome, Georgia. South Meadows is a partnership between Laurel Street and the South Rome Alliance. The South Rome Alliance is a member of the Purpose-Built Community Network, and coordinates housing, education, and wellness initiatives in the South Rome neighborhood. South Meadows Apartments reflects this mission by integrating 80 high-quality affordable residences with an educational facility and a community farm.

View of South Meadows Apartments from Pollock Street

“This new product offering from Woodforest and NAHT is a key part of our work to grow NAHT’s platform and offerings to mission-focused developers,” said Lori Little, NAHT President & CEO. “We are excited to partner with Woodforest on this effort and believe they are an innovative and impact-driven organization that is looking to make a difference in the affordable housing space. The period between an award of tax credits and the financial closing is an expensive time for developers and we know this product will help meet their needs enabling them to do additional projects.”

“We appreciate NAHT’s partnership and enthusiasm for South Meadows Apartments,” said Lee Cochran, Senior Vice President at Laurel Street. “Investments like the bridge financing provided by NAHT allow Laurel Street to advance the predevelopment process and move to the closing and construction of high quality, affordable housing units.”

This credit facility is just another resource among a suite of products of the joint venture established between the Low-Income Investment Fund (LIIF), Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF), and NAHT. The mission of the joint venture is to raise $1 billion to build, protect, and preserve approximately 10,000 affordable homes across the country.

Doug Schaeffer, Executive Vice President, CRA Executive Director for Woodforest added, “Woodforest continues to pursue community partnerships with proven best-in-class networks like NAHT’s joint venture to combat the affordable housing crisis throughout the U.S. including the Bank’s 17-state footprint. We applaud NAHT’s incredibly long and proven history of innovative, complex, and tireless work on behalf of thousands of at-risk individuals and families. We look forward to seeing the impact this catalytic equity bridge loan will have, and the additional opportunities this will create that support our shared goals with NAHT.”

National Affordable Housing Trust is a nonprofit Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) syndicator helping create and preserve homes for those in need. NAHT is a joint venture of LIIF (Low Income Investment Fund) and SAHF (Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future).