67234 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 23, 1997 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA)

for the Section 515 Rural Rental

Housing Program

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service (RHS),

USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This NOFA announces the

timeframe to submit applications for

Section 515 Rural Rental Housing loan

funds and Section 521 Rental Assistance

(RA) for new construction. This

document also describes the allocation

of loan funds and new construction

rental assistance (RA), application

process, submission requirements, and

areas of special emphasis or

consideration.

DATES: The closing deadline for receipt

of applications in response to this

NOFA is 5:00 p.m., local time for each

Rural Development State Office on

March 23, 1998, except as noted. The

application closing deadline is firm as

to date and hour. RHS will not consider

any application that is received after the

closing deadline. Applicants intending

to mail applications must provide

sufficient time to permit delivery on or

before the closing deadline date and

time. Acceptance by a post office or

private mailer does not constitute

delivery. Facsimile (FAX), COD, and

postage due applications will not be

accepted.

ADDRESSES: Applicants wishing to apply

for assistance must contact the Rural

Development State Office serving the

place in which they desire to submit an

application for rural rental housing to

receive further information and copies

of the application package. Rural

Development will date and time stamp

incoming applications to evidence

timely receipt, and, upon request, will

provide the applicant with a written

acknowledgment of receipt. A listing of

Rural Development State Offices, their

addresses, telephone numbers, and

person to contact can be found

elsewhere in this Notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Most States will have a loan limit;

therefore, applicants must contact the

appropriate Rural Development State

Office listed elsewhere in this Notice for

funding availability. For general

information, applicants may contact

Linda Armour, Cynthia L. ReeseFoxworth, or Carl Wagner, Senior Loan

Officers, Multi-Family Housing

Processing Division, Rural Housing

Service, United States Department of

Agriculture, Stop 0781, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC, 20250, telephone (202)

720–1604 (this is not a toll free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Programs Affected

The Rural Rental Housing Program is

listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance under Number 10.415, Rural

Rental Housing Loans. Rental assistance

is listed in the Catalog under Number

10.427, Rural Rental Assistance

Payments.

Rural Development State Offices With 90-

Day Application Deadlines

Note: Telephone numbers listed are not

toll-free.

Arizona State Office, Phoenix Corporate

Center, 3003 N. Central Ave., Suite 900,

Phoenix, AZ 85012–2906, (602) 280–8755,

Steve Langstaff

California State Office, 194 West Main Street,

Suite F, Woodland, CA 95695–2915, (916)

668–2090, Robert P. Anderson

Connecticut—Served by Massachusetts State

Office

Delaware/Maryland State Office, 5201 South

Dupont Highway, PO Box 400, Camden, DE

19934–9998, (302) 697–4314, W. Arthur

Greenwood

Florida and Virgin Islands State Office, 4440

N.W. 25th Place, PO Box 147010,

Gainesville, FL 32614–7010, (352) 338–

3465, Joseph P. Fritz

Georgia State Office, Stephens Federal

Building, 355 E. Hancock Avenue, Athens,

GA 30601–2768, (706) 546–2164, Wayne

Rogers

Guam—Served by Hawaii State Office

Hawaii, Guam, and Western Pacific Areas

State Office, Room 311, Federal Building,

154 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720,

(808) 933–3005, Abraham Kubo

Idaho State Office, 3232 Elder Street, Boise,

ID 83705, (208) 378–5627, Roni Atkins

Illinois State Office, Illini Plaza, Suite 103,

1817 South Neil Street, Champaign, IL

61820, (217) 398–5412 (ext. 256), Barry L.

Ramsey

Indiana State Office, 5975 Lakeside

Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46278, (317)

290–3115, John Young

Iowa State Office, 873 Federal Building, 210

Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, (515)

284–4493, Bruce McGuire

Kansas State Office, 1200 SW Executive

Drive, PO Box 4653, Topeka, KS 66604,

(913) 271–2720, Gary Shumaker

Louisiana State Office, 3727 Government

Street, Alexandria, LA 71302, (318) 473–

7950, Yvonne R. Emerson

Maryland—Served by Delaware State Office

Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode

Island State Office, 451 West Street,

Amherst, MA 01002, (413) 253–4327,

Donald Colburn

Michigan State Office, 3001 Coolidge Road,

Suite 200, East Lansing, MI 48823, (515)

337–6635 (ext. 1609), Julie Putnam

Minnesota State Office, 410 AgriBank

Building, 375 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN

55101–1853, (612) 290–3912 Mary Ann

Erickson

Missouri State Office, 601 Business Loop 70

West, Parkade Center, Suite 235, Columbia,

MO 65203, (573) 876–0990, Gary Frisch

Montana State Office, Unit 1, Suite B, 900

Technology Blvd., Bozeman, MT 59715,

(406) 585–2515, Marylou Falconer

Nebraska State Office, Federal Building,

room 308, 100 Centennial Mall N, Lincoln,

NE 68508, (402) 437–5557, Byron Fischer

Nevada State Office, 1390 South Curry Street,

Carson City, NV 89703–5405, (702) 887–

1222, Jackie J. Goodnough

New Hampshire—Served by Vermont State

Office

New Jersey State Office, Tarnsfield Plaza,

Suite 22, 790 Woodland Road, Mt. Holly,

NJ 08060, (609) 265–3630, George Hyatt, Jr.

New Mexico State Office, 6200 Jefferson St.,

NE, Room 255, Albuquerque, NM 87109,

(505) 761–4944, Carmen N. Lopez

North Carolina State Office, 4405 Bland

Road, Suite 260, Raleigh, NC 27609, (919)

873–2062, Eileen Nowlin

North Dakota State Office, Federal Building,

Room 208, 220 East Rosser, PO Box 1737,

Bismarck, ND 58502, (701) 250–4771,

Kathy David

Oregon State Office, 101 SW Main, Suite

1410, Portland, OR 9724–2333, (503) 414–

3350, Jillene Davis

Pennsylvania State Office, One Credit Union

Place, Suite 330, Harrisburg, PA 17110–

2996, (717) 782–4574, Gary Rothrock

Puerto Rico State Office, New San Juan Office

Bldg., Room 501, 159 Carlos E. Chardon

Street, Hato Rey, PR 00918–5481, (809)

766–5095 Ext. 256, Lourdes Colon

Rhode Island—Served by Massachusetts

State Office

South Carolina State Office, Strom

Thurmond Federal Building, 1835

Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC

29201, (803) 765–5690, Frances S. Kelley

Utah State Office, Wallace F. Bennett Federal

Building, 125 S. State Street, Room 5438,

Salt Lake City, UT 84138, (801) 524–3242,

Robert L. Milianta

Vermont and New Hampshire State Office,

City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main Street,

Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828–6020,

Russell Higgins

Virgin Islands—Served by Florida State

Office

Virginia State Office, Culpeper Building,

Suite 238, 1606 Santa Rosa Road,

Richmond, VA 23229, (804) 287–1582,

Gayle Calhoun

Washington State Office,1835 Black Lake

Blvd. SW., Suite B, Olympia, WA 98512–

5717, (360) 704–7707, Deborah Davis

Western Pacific Territories—Served by

Hawaii State Office

West Virginia State Office, Federal Building,

75 High Street, Room 320, Morgantown,

WV 26505–7500, (304) 291–4793, Sue

Snodgrass

Wisconsin State Office, 4949 Kirschiling

Court, Stevens Point, WI 54481, (715) 345–

7620, Sherry Engel

Wyoming State Office,100 East B, Federal

Building, Room 1005, PO Box 820, Casper,

WY 82602, (307) 261–6315, Charles E. Huff
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 23, 1997 / Notices 67235

Rural Development State Offices With 60-

Day Deadlines

Alaska State Office, 800 West Evergreen,

Suite 201, Palmer, AK 99645, (907) 745–

2176, Ron Abbott

Arkansas State Office, 700 W. Capitol Ave.,

Rm. 5411, Little Rock, AR 72201–3225,

(501) 324–6701, Cathy Jones

Colorado State Office, 655 Parfet Street,

Room E100, Lakewood, CO 80215, (303)

236–2801 (ext. 122), ‘‘Sam’’ Mitchell

New York State Office, The Galleries of

Syracuse, 441 S. Salina Street, Suite 357,

Syracuse, NY 13202, (315) 477–6419,

George N. Von Pless

Oklahoma State Office,100 USDA, Suite 108,

Stillwater, OK 74074–2654, (405) 742–

1070, Patsy Graumann

South Dakota State Office, Federal Building,

Room 308, 200 Fourth Street, SW, Huron,

SD 57350, (605) 352–1132, Dwight

Wullweber

Texas State Office, Federal Building, Suite

102, 101 South Main, Temple, TX 76501,

(254) 742–9760, Eugene G. Pavlat

Explanation of 60-Day NOFA

Application Deadline

Customers in the above listed States

will benefit from having a 60-day

application period so that the Agency’s

NOFA process will coincide with the

time restraints placed upon them by

participating lenders and State Housing

Finance Agencies (SHFA). Participating

lenders such as commercial banks

leverage their funds with RHS funds.

State organizations can provide

Community Development Block Grants

(CDBG) and HOME funds as another

means of leveraging RHS funds. State

Housing Finance Agencies have certain

timeframes whereby applicants can

apply for tax credits. Therefore, to assist

our customers in obtaining leveraged

funds and participate with other

funding sources, a 60-day application

period is provided.

Discussion of Notice

I. Authority and Allocation

A. Authority

Section 515 of the Housing Act of

1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485) provides RHS the

authority to make loans to any

individual, corporation, association,

trust, Indian tribe, public and private

nonprofit organizations, consumer

cooperative, or partnership to provide

rental or cooperative housing and

related facilities for elderly or

handicapped persons or families of low

or moderate income as well as other

persons and families of low income in

rural areas. Rental assistance is a tenant

subsidy available to very-low and lowincome families residing in rural rental

housing facilities with RHS financing,

and is requested with application for

such facilities.

B. Allocation Methodology

Based on the allocation formula

contained in 7 CFR part 1940, subpart

L ‘‘Methodology and Formulas for

Allocation of Loan and Grant Program

Funds,’’ RHS has allocated available

funds directly to each Rural

Development State Office.

The Rural Housing Service has

published regulations outlining its

application and review process for the

Section 515 Rural Rental Housing new

construction program. These regulations

can be found at 7 CFR part 1944,

subpart E, and provide that some prior

year applicants who filed acceptable

loan requests in prior years may proceed

with their loan requests provided they

comply with the aforementioned

regulations. Additionally, in fiscal year

1998, some States have requested

authorization to transfer all or a portion

of their new construction allocation to

their rehabilitation and repair

allocation. States in this category need

not wait until the NOFA deadline to

obligate funds. Applicants are strongly

advised to contact their State Office to

ascertain its funding status. The

following States have applications on

hand from prior years in designated

places that, if obligated, will use all of

their direct allocations or may be

transferring their new construction

allocation to their rehabilitation and

repair allocations:

Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois,

Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, North

Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas.

Other States also have applications on

hand that may use part of their

allocation for new construction or will

use a portion of their new construction

allocation for rehabilitation and repair

purposes. Therefore, potential

applicants are encouraged to apply in

those States during the NOFA period;

however, there is no guarantee that

funds will be available. The Agency is

not responsible for any costs associated

with the applicant’s decision to submit

an application package. If funds are not

available, those applications will not be

reviewed and will be returned to the

applicant.

Limited funds are available, at the

National Office, to all States for eligible

nonprofit organizations and to some

States for the 100 most Underserved

Counties and Colonias Set-asides.

Accordingly, all potential applicants

and interested parties must contact the

appropriate Rural Development State

Office to ascertain funding availability

from the State’s allocation and potential

availability of funds from the set-asides

for nonprofit organizations and

underserved areas. Since funds are so

limited, every effort must be made to

ensure that RHS funds are leveraged

with other financing sources to reach

the most underserved areas. Available

funds should be utilized in

communities where economic growth

can be stimulated via the construction

of Multi-Family Housing complexes.

II. Application Process

All applications for section 515 new

construction funds must be filed with

the appropriate Rural Development

State Office and must meet the

requirements of 7 CFR part 1944,

subpart E and section IV of this NOFA.

Incomplete applications will not be

reviewed and will be returned to the

applicant. No application will be

accepted after 5:00 p.m., local time, on

the application deadlines previously

mentioned, unless that date and time is

extended by a Notice published in the

Federal Register.

III. Application Submission

Requirements

A. Each application shall include all

of the information, materials, forms and

exhibits required by 7 CFR part 1944,

subpart E as well as comply with the

provisions of this NOFA. Applicants are

encouraged, but not required, to include

a checklist and to have their

applications indexed and tabbed to

facilitate the review process. The Rural

Development State Office will base its

determination of completeness of the

application and the eligibility of each

applicant on the information provided

in the application.

B. Applicants are advised to contact

the Rural Development State Office

serving the place in which they desire

to submit an application for the

following:

1. Application information;

2. Any restrictions on funding

availability (applications that do not

conform to or exceed the State’s limit on

size of project or dollar amount will be

returned to the applicant); and

3. List of designated places for

funding new section 515 facilities.

IV. Areas of Special Emphasis or

Consideration

A. The selection criteria contained in

7 CFR part 1944, subpart E includes two

optional criteria, one set by the National

Office and one by the State Office, to

support special initiatives at the

National and State Office level. These

initiatives will not be used this fiscal

year. However, States are strongly

encouraged to develop special

initiatives for fiscal year 1999, as this

criteria will be used.
67236 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 23, 1997 / Notices

B. The Agency has published

elsewhere in this Federal Register a

Notice which provides the availability

of funds set-aside for Nonprofit entities

and the 100 most Underserved Counties

and Colonias (Cranston-Gonzalez Act).

That Notice indicates that $9.45 million

is available nationwide in a set-aside for

eligible Nonprofit organizations and

$5.25 million is available in a set-aside

for the 100 most Underserved Counties

and Colonias. That Notice also gives a

deadline of February 23, 1998 as the last

day for submission of applications for

participation in the Nonprofit and

Underserved Counties and Colonias SetAsides.

C. The Agency has published

elsewhere in this Federal Register, a

Notice which provides the availability

of funds set-aside for the State Rental

Assistance Program. That Notice

indicates that $2.5 million is available

for States with viable State Rental

Assistance Programs. In order to

participate, States are to submit a

written request with specific

information about the State RA program,

i.e., memorandum of understanding,

documentation from the provider, etc.,

to the National Office no later than

March 15, 1998.

D. In accordance with the Welfare and

Immigrations Reform Act, States are

reminded to inform potential applicants

that modest community rooms in

section 515 complexes are highly

encouraged to provide a place for

special activities and services that will

aid residents in improving job skills,

education, or their understanding of the

impact of changes in Government

programs as well as to provide a space

for resident and community meetings.

E. Loan requests filed in response to

this NOFA are subject to the regulatory

provisions with respect to the Final

Rule entitled ‘‘Rural Rental Housing

(RRH) Assistance,’’ which is published

elsewhere in this issue of the Federal

Register.

Dated: December 16, 1997.

Jan E. Shadburn,

Administrator, Rural Housing Service.

[FR Doc. 97–33398 Filed 12–22–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–U