Community Affairs:
Article Archive > Louisiana

An Investment Opportunity in Northwest Louisiana
The newly created $40 million Northwest Louisiana Community Development Fund I was established to finance local real estate projects to help revitalize low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities across Northwest Louisiana. The fund currently has more than $11 million in capital commitments. The fund's sponsor, the Strategic Action Council, was created to enhance the capacity of the region to compete in today's global, technology-driven economy.

JPMorgan Chase is the lead investor with family and national foundations, both national and community banks, and institutional investors, such as pension funds and university endowments joining the fund.

The fund seeks to deliver market rate returns to investors and to create jobs, income, and community revitalization for LMI residents in a 10-parish region (Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto, Lincoln, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, and Webster). This region represents emerging markets with substantial potential to contribute to the growth of Northwest Louisiana. Initial investments are expected in summer 2008, based on a pipeline of projects including mixed-income, mixed-use, workforce housing, and commercial joint ventures with developers and builders in the communities.

For more information, contact Karen Kasteel, Managing Director for the Kennedy Wilson Fund Management Group, at (310) 877-3414 or e-mail her; or contact J. B. Beaird, Manager/CEO at Beaird Operating Companies (the Local Investor Group), at (318) 221-8276 or e-mail him.

[Community Developments Investments, Fall 2008]

Enterprise Corporation of the Delta/HOPE Community Credit Union Offers Opportunity to Help Rebuild
Enterprise Corporation of the Delta/Hope Community Credit Union (ECD/HOPE) is a partner for banks seeking to provide assistance in communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In the months since the hurricanes, cleanup and relief efforts continue, but increasingly the focus is shifting to rebuilding and planning for recovery of the affected areas. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed or heavily damaged, displacing families, and disrupting lives. Banks can play a large and vital role in the rebuilding process.

ECD/HOPE can bring proven affordable housing, small business lending, and community development expertise to the victims of the hurricanes, as well as, participating financial institutions. ECD/HOPE is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, with offices throughout Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. ECD/HOPE is a nonprofit certified community development financial institution working to strengthen communities, build assets, and improve lives in economically distressed areas of the mid-South. It does this by providing financial and technical assistance to firms, entrepreneurs, homeowners and community development projects, and by forging strategic partnerships across the public, private sectors, and banks. Since its founding in 1994, ECD/HOPE has generated more than $200 million in financing and assisted more than 13,000 people in economically-distressed communities in the region.

For more information on investment and lending opportunities and how your bank can partner with ECD/HOPE, contact Bill Bynum, chief executive officer, at (601) 944-1100.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments Investments, Spring 2006]

New Statewide Individual Development Account (IDA) Programs
The IDA Collaborative of Louisiana received a contract through the Louisiana Department of Social Services and is implementing a statewide IDA program. The IDA Collaborative is seeking bank partners to provide savings accounts, support and technical assistance.

For more information, please call Lina Alfieri Stern, Program Administrator, at (504) 865-5455.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments, Fall 2002]

return to top >