[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67234-67236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-33398]



[[Page 67234]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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. Reese-Foxworth, 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

[[Page 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 low-income 
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.

[[Page 67236]]

    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 
Set-Asides.
    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