Jessie duPont Fund loan to spur urban core development in Jacksonville

[KenFSU]

From the T-U

Jessie duPont Fund loan to spur urban core development in Jacksonville

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund has invested $3 million in a Jacksonville nonprofit that promotes affordable housing, community facilities and small business development in Jacksonville's urban core and surrounding areas.

That influx could lead to as much as $34 million in other financing to be used for the same purpose.

The program-related investment, or PRI, is in the form of a 10-year loan, with an interest rate of 1 percent, to the national office of Local Initiatives Support Corp. (known as LISC), in New York.

"The full amount of the loan will only be deployed in Northeast Florida, emphasizing Jacksonville's urban core," said Maurice Jones, president and CEO of LISC's national office."

The local affiliate, LISC Jacksonville, will initially use the funds for a "mix of complex projects" in Northwest Jacksonville, Springfield and the Eastside and Downtown areas, said Executive Director Janet Owens.

"This pivotal financing will support affordable housing and economic development projects that are key to the revitalization of our neighborhoods," Owens said.

The loan's low interest rate allows LISC to also charge developers low interest rates for their projects, which include planned renovation of older downtown buildings into mixed-use commercial and housing, said Charles Shealy, LISC Jacksonville real estate and lending program officer...

Full story: http://www.jacksonville.com/news/20180329/jessie-dupont-fund-loan-to-spur-urban-core-development-in-jacksonville