Mortgage group honors Liberty Bank for promoting affordable housing

The Connecticut Mortgage Bankers Association has honored Liberty Bank and the Liberty Bank Foundation for their work promoting affordable housing in southeastern Connecticut.

The New Britain-based mortgage bankers association gave its Housing Connecticut Award to the bank and its foundation for their years-long work with Habitat for Humanity of Southeastern Connecticut to develop the six-unit Davis Farm affordable-housing community in New London.

The mortgage bankers association award is given to organizations that make affordable housing available across Connecticut.

Laurie E. Krause, who chairs the mortgage bankers association affordable-housing committee, said a coalition comprising Liberty Bank, the Liberty Bank Foundation, Mystic River Builders, Real Estate Services Corp. and Habitat embodied the spirit of the housing award by making affordable housing available in New London.

"Each of these team members ... deserve to be recognized for their efforts in going above and beyond the call to make Connecticut a better place to live for us all," she said in announcing the annual housing award.

Calvin Price, vice president of community development at Liberty Bank, said affordable housing remains a priority for the Middletown-based mutual savings bank. Price has shepherded the Davis Farm project over the past five years from initial talks to its completion.

The Liberty foundation has been a supporter of various Habitat for Humanity projects and has awarded six grants totaling $52,500, including a $30,000 three-year grant to assist with the construction of Davis Farms.

Liberty Bank also has assisted with a $50,000 line of credit, providing Habitat for Humanity with working capital. The bank also wrote the mortgage for Habitat's New London office.

a.cronin@theday.com