PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Biden administration is relaunching the Federal Financing Bank in order to make loans available for affordable residential development. It's one of several steps that U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge announced to create more affordable housing.
On Wednesday, Fudge toured St. Rita Place and Cascia Center in South Philadelphia, a 46-unit apartment building for low-income seniors that is under construction at Broad and Federal streets, with help from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
The state agency would have a lot more money to bankroll similar projects with the relaunch of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which Fudge said starts immediately.
"We're giving you the tools to do the work you need to do to make sure the lowest income people have a place to lay their head," she said.
Other steps include easier financing of pre-fab, two- to four-unit houses, for which loans had been restricted, and prioritizing individual buyers over large investors when selling HUD-owned properties. She said that will increase the supply of affordable housing.
"Over the next two years, 100,000 housing units," she promised to applause.
Fudge said this is an action the administration can take on its own, but she hopes Congress will pass the American Families Plan, which would supply 2 million new units of affordable housing.
