Through the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) General Fund, our member institutions partner with for- and not-for-profit developers, community organizations, units of government, public housing authorities, and tribal governments to apply for annual grants to subsidize the acquisition, new construction, and/or rehabilitation of affordable rental or owner-occupied housing. AHP subsidy is provided as a forgivable grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, through a member, to a project sponsor.
The 2023 AHP General fund round is closed. Award announcements will be made in October 2023.
Affordable Housing Program
Program Elements
- The maximum per-project subsidy is $1,000,000 or 75% of the total project cost, whichever is less.
- Members may apply for up to 25% of the subsidy announced for the application period.
How to Participate
- To participate in the AHP General Fund, the member and project sponsor must jointly submit an application through AHP Online, FHLBank Chicago’s web-based project management system. Members access AHP Online through eBanking—FHLBank Chicago’s member-only website—and sponsors access AHP Online through FHLBank Chicago’s public website.
- FHLBank Chicago holds its competitive application round annually.
- Community Investment staff offer workshops for members and sponsor organizations prior to each competitive round to provide applicants with technical assistance and general information. Workshop dates and registration information will be announced on the website and in the Community First® newsletter.
- Application materials are posted to the website approximately 60 days prior to the application deadline.
Eligibility Requirements
- Eligibility requirements and feasibility guidelines are published in the AHP Implementation Plan and Guide for Sponsor Applicants (available on the AHP Program Policy and Forms page).
- AHP subsidies must be used for one of two broad purposes:
- To finance the acquisition, construction, and/or rehabilitation of owner-occupied housing for households with incomes at or below 80% of area median income; or
- To finance the acquisition, construction, and/or rehabilitation of rental housing for projects where at least 20% of the units must be occupied by, and affordable to, households with incomes at or below 50% of area median income
- Applications must demonstrate project eligibility, development and operational feasibility, and the need for AHP subsidy.
- AHP-assisted owner-occupied projects must be retained as affordable housing for five years; rental projects must be retained as affordable housing for 15 years.
- The sponsor must be qualified and able to perform its responsibilities as committed to in the AHP application.
- The project must comply with applicable federal and state fair housing and accessibility laws and regulations.
Application Scoring
- Scoring guidelines are published in the AHP Implementation Plan and Guide for Sponsor Applicants (available on the AHP Program Policy and Forms page). Applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be evaluated using a 100-point scoring system.
Member and Project Sponsor Roles and Responsibilities
- A Subsidy Agreement between the member, the sponsor, and FHLBank Chicago must be executed and all conditional award requirements must be met prior to disbursement of the subsidy.
- Monitoring responsibilities are shared by the member and project sponsor.
- Compliance reporting begins shortly after award announcement and is required throughout the project’s retention period.
- All representations and commitments made in the approved AHP application will be continually evaluated and confirmed through project completion reporting (or, in some cases, through long-term monitoring).
- Any changes to the project’s sources and uses, operating pro forma, and/or scoring commitments may jeopardize the AHP award.
- For more information on member and project sponsor roles and responsibilities across the project life cycle, refer to the AHP Online: Guide for Project Management, available on the AHP Programs Policy and Forms page.
Disbursement
- Prior to each disbursement, the AHP regulations require FHLBank Chicago to review project documentation to:
- Verify that the project is in compliance with the commitments made in the approved application or subsequent approved modifications
- Confirm the project's continued need for the AHP subsidy
- Reevaluate the current financial and operational feasibility of the project
- Collaboration between the project member and sponsor is necessary to complete the disbursement request form and provide the required documentation. Documentation requirements are based on the project type.
- The member and sponsor should contact FHLBank Chicago Community Investment before submitting a disbursement request form.
- AHP subsidy for approved projects must be disbursed within one year of the award announcement.
- Under certain circumstances, members and project sponsors or owners may be required to repay AHP subsidies. To initiate repayment, members should submit a completed repayment worksheet to repayments@fhlbc.com. After review, the repayment will be drafted from the members' Daily Investment Deposit (DID) account.
Contact
Questions related to the AHP General Fund can be directed to FHLBank Chicago Community Investment at 312-565-5824 or ci@fhlbc.com.