Zion Woods Brings Affordable Housing and Hope to Deerfield, IL
In June, FHLBank Chicago joined local housing leaders to celebrate the grand opening of Zion Woods Apartments, a new affordable housing development in Deerfield, Illinois. The 25-unit project brings high-quality, environmentally friendly homes to individuals and families who live and work in the area.
A $625,000 grant from FHLBank Chicago’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP), awarded through member Village Bank & Trust, played a critical role in making the development possible. “Creating a supportive workforce housing community is so important for people in Deerfield and we are proud to have provided financing to help bring this project to life,” said Stephanie Molster, Vice President at Village Bank & Trust, a Wintrust Community Bank.
Developed by Housing Opportunity Development Corporation in partnership with Brinshore Development, Zion Woods was built on land owned by Zion Lutheran Church and shaped through years of local advocacy.
Today, Zion Woods stands as a model for what’s possible when vision and partnership align. “It’s incredibly moving to now see residents moving in and thriving,” said Richard Koenig, Executive Director of HODC.
Watch below to hear from one Zion Woods resident about what she loves most about her new home.
Community First® Developer Program Applications Close on August 8, 2025
The
Community First® Developer Program (Developer Program) application period closes in four days. Please ensure your application is submitted by an FHLBank Chicago member by 5 p.m. CT on August 8. The Developer program provides grant funds to support career development for emerging developers of affordable housing in FHLBank Chicago’s district of Illinois and Wisconsin. Through our member institutions, we offer grants to help qualifying organizations provide valuable professional opportunities to new talent and further their affordable housing mission. These grants are an opportunity for our members to establish and strengthen partnerships with organizations working in their communities.
2025 AHP General Fund Update
For 35 years, members of FHLBank Chicago have partnered with community developers and public agencies to apply for
Affordable Housing Program (AHP) General Fund subsidies. These grants are awarded to the highest-scoring projects through a competitive process until the funds are exhausted. The 2025 AHP General Fund competitive round began on Monday, May 12 and ended on Friday, June 20. Applicants are expected to receive notification regarding the status of their applications by the end of October. FHLBank Chicago expects to award approximately $52 million this year.
2025 Round Highlights
- 57 members and 85 sponsors jointly submitted 105 applications.
- Approximately $134 million in AHP General Fund subsidies were requested to support the construction, acquisition, and/or rehabilitation of more than 4,300 housing units.
- The applications by project location were distributed between Illinois (50) and Wisconsin (54), plus one from outside the district.
- 79 of the applications submitted are for rental projects and 26 are for homeownership projects. Compared to 2024, the number of homeownership applications doubled.
- The total development costs for the 105 projects are more than $1.3 billion.
- The average subsidy per unit requested was $31,296.
2024 Impact Report
We are thrilled to share our
2024 Impact Report! This report highlights how we are investing in opportunities, providing liquidity and reliable funding to our members, support for housing and community development, and cultivating a high-performing and engaged workforce.
We encourage you to read the full report for inspiring stories and share our impact:
fhlbc.com/impactDiscounted Community Small Business Advance is Open
The
Discounted Community Small Business Advance (CSBA) offering a 100-basis points discount is still available to our members. The CSBA program supports economic development and community revitalization efforts in Illinois and Wisconsin by allowing members to borrow from FHLBank Chicago at a discounted rate in support of small business lending.
If you are an FHLBank Chicago member and have any questions, please contact your Sales Director directly or our Member Transaction Desk at mtd@fhlbc.com or 855.345.2244, option 1.
Community Support Statements
FHLBank Chicago members are required to submit a
Community Support Statement (CSS) to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) every two years. The 2025 Community Support Program (CSP) review cycle began April 1, 2025. While the CSS deadline is October 31, 2025, we recommend submitting this as soon as possible. Failure to meet the standards outlined in the CSP regulation will result in FHFA restricting your institution’s access to FHLBank Chicago products, including new long-term advances (those greater than one year), AHP, DPP and Community Advances.
More information on Community Support review can be found on our Community Support Program webpage. Please contact us at communitysupportprogram@fhlbc.com with any questions.
2024 Accelerate Grant Impact Reporting Requirements
Impact Reporting for all 2024 Accelerate Grant recipients became available starting on June 30, 2025 via the AGP Online link in the red banner in eBanking. The designated FHLBank Chicago member contact must complete the report by January 31, 2026 after all grant funds have been spent. All members required to submit a report will receive a reminder notification via email, and instructions on submitting are included in the system. Please reach out to
ci@fhlbc.com with any questions.
