Henry Cisneros, chairman of American CityVista; Dave Matlock, president of KB Home San Antonio/Laredo; and Sergio Martinez, vice president of operations for KB Home Laredo; joined local dignitaries for ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremonies at a new affordable housing community in Laredo, Texas. "Cielito Lindo" is the first new residential community to be built by a national homebuilder in Laredo in many years.
"The Cielito Lindo community is a response to the City of Laredo's priority to build moderately-priced new homes for families and to further develop its South Side," explained Cisneros. "With the homes affordably priced from the high $60s to the low $100s, a family can own a new home in Cielito Lindo for less than $450 a month in principal and interest," he continued.
"Cielito Lindo is also a prime location for families looking to the future. The site is adjacent to the state-of-the-art Lyndon Baines Johnson High School, which has just recently opened for classes, and the community is just across the street from the site of the proposed second campus of Laredo Community College, scheduled to complete construction in March 2004," said Matlock.
Cielito Lindo offers amenities homebuyers want, including traditional design features with colorful exterior options reflecting South Texas culture, as well as proximity to schools, churches, and shops. Fannie Mae, Kaufman and Broad Mortgage Company and American CityVista are enhancing the opportunity for affordable homeownership by offering a new, innovative mortgage product, featuring special zero down payment and zero closing costs financing for Laredo civil servants including: police officers, firefighters, teachers, nurses and border personnel. In addition, a special down payment assistance program is also available to help more Laredoans become homeowners.
"Our vision to make the dream of homeownership a reality for more families in Laredo has progressed faster than we ever expected," Matlock added. "And thanks to that success, we're happy to announce that Cielito Lindo is among the first of several projects targeted for the KB Home/American CityVista joint venture."
KB Home, a Fortune 500 company, is one of America's largest homebuilders with domestic operating divisions in some of the fastest-growing areas of the country including California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and Florida. American CityVista was formed in September 2000 as a partnership between former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros and KB Home, to address the growing, nationwide need for reasonably priced homes in central, urban neighborhoods.
Pat Rioux
