Austin Emergency Shelter Gets Major Facelift with Help of $500K Grant

The Salvation Army’s downtown emergency shelter in Austin, Texas, has been in continuous operation for more than 30 years, serving 800 meals a day and providing shelter to thousands of individuals annually.

With such constant use, the 65,000-square-foot shelter was in need of some major tender loving care. Frost Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) helped in that effort by awarding a $500,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant to The Salvation Army Austin.

The AHP grant helped fund a $3 million renovation, which was completed in March. The renovations included brick repair and new plumbing to a large portion of the property. A new chiller and new furnace were added and electrical wiring was upgraded. In addition, the project included new flooring, energy-efficient lighting, upgraded elevators, an improved dining room, and new industrial washers and dryers. Additional funding was raised through a Salvation Army capital campaign, said Major Andrew Kelly, who oversees the Austin-area command.

“The AHP grant helped us to fund more than what we would have been able to do otherwise,” Major Kelly said. “We had a very successful capital campaign that included this project, but it also included several others. And, as we were going through the campaign and working on the renovation, the cost of construction continued to go up. Originally, the cost was expected to be $2 million and it ended up increasing to $3 million. The grant definitely helped us get the work accomplished to make the building more livable for the residents and support staff.”

The Salvation Army kept the shelter open and operating at near full capacity throughout the renovations, housing about 250 people per night.

“We all know The Salvation Army from its annual Red Kettle campaign but many are unaware of the daily, steady work it does behind the scenes to provide a safety net for children, women and men who may be hungry or homeless,” said Frost Bank’s Senior Vice President and CRA Officer Donna Normandin. “We’re proud to partner with FHLB Dallas to widen The Salvation Army’s reach and impact here in Austin.”

Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas, said Frost Bank has long championed the work of charitable organizations that provide aid to vulnerable populations.

“Frost has taken an active role in supporting mission-minded agencies through the AHP and we thank them for their partnership,” Mr. Hettrick said.

AHP grants are awarded through FHLB Dallas member institutions such as Frost Bank. FHLB Dallas annually returns 10 percent of its profits in the form of AHP grants to the communities served by its member institutions. AHP grants fund a variety of projects, including home rehabilitation and modifications for low-income, elderly and special-needs residents; down payment and closing cost assistance for qualified first-time homebuyers; and the construction of low-income, multifamily rental communities and single-family homes.

In 2017, FHLB Dallas awarded $7 million in grants to 19 affordable housing projects. The grants will help create 1,108 new or rehabilitated housing units. Since the inception of the AHP in 1990, FHLB Dallas has awarded more than $261 million in AHP and AHP-funded grants to assist more than 48,500 families.

About Frost Bank

Frost is the banking, investments and insurance subsidiary of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR), a financial holding company with $31.7 billion in assets at December 31, 2017. One of the 50 largest U.S. banks by asset size, Frost provides a full range of banking investments and insurance services to businesses and individuals in the Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Permian Basin, Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio regions. Founded in 1868, Frost has helped Texans with their financial needs during three centuries. For more information, visit http://www.frostbank.com.

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $68.5 billion as of December 31, 2017, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community investment by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 835 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit fhlb.com.

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