LBWN, Impact Seven win Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago Community First Award | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Layton Boulevard West Neighbors
April 7, 2015
This week, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (Bank) announced that Layton Boulevard West Neighbors (LBWN) and Impact Seven are the Wisconsin recipients of the Community First Partnership Award. The awards recognize outstanding achievements of the Bank’s member institutions and their local partners as they work together to strengthen their communities through affordable housing and economic development initiatives.
LBWN and Impact Seven received this honor in recognition of LBWN Rent-to-Own Homes, which transformed 24 bank and city-owned properties into fully-renovated, move-in ready residential and commercial spaces in the south side Milwaukee neighborhoods of Layton Boulevard West, Clarke Square, and Muskego Way. This development was nominated for a Community First Award by Town Bank.
“We are honored to receive the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago’s Community First Award, along with Impact Seven,” said Charlotte John-Gomez, Executive Director of LBWN. “By providing new homeownership opportunities for families and attracting new businesses to the neighborhood, LBWN Rent-to-Own Homes contributes to the Layton Boulevard West neighborhoods’ ever-strengthening economic vitality.”
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“This project met the city’s foreclosure crisis head-on by turning challenges into opportunities,” remarked Impact Seven CEO, Brett Gerber. “But it couldn’t have happened without strong partnerships with LBWN and others. Impact Seven is grateful to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago for providing leadership and resources essential to meeting our mission. Congratulations to everyone involved.”
Highlights of this scattered-site development include:
LBWN and Impact Seven invested $6.2 million in this development with funding sources coming from a variety of community partners, including: Bank of America (property donation), City of Milwaukee (HOME, NSP), Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (AHP),  Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), National Equity Fund, Town Bank, US Bank, WHEDA LIHTC, and the Zilber Family Foundation.
LBWN Rent-To-Own Homes involved 18 different community partners, including: LBWN, Impact Seven, Inc., Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, Town Bank, Bank of America, City of Milwaukee, LISC Milwaukee, National Equity Fund, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, s.c., Schultzwerk Architecture, Universal Construction Solutions, US Bank, US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), Wisconsin Redevelopment, Multicultural Entrepreneurial Institute (MEI), Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC), and the Zilber Family Foundation.