Spokane Housing Authority, a nonprofit provider of low-income housing, says it expects to save hundreds of thousands of dollars through a $4.9 million loan it has obtained to refinance an earlier higher-interest debt and pay for $900,000 in upgrades planned at two Hillyard-area apartment complexes.

The complexes, Heritage Heights and Westfall Village, are located, respectively, at 3818 N. Cook and 3742 N. Cook. Heritage Heights is a 62-unit complex for low-income seniors. Westfall Village has 110 units for low-income families.

The Spokane Housing Authority plans to install new roofs and additional common space for gatherings at Heritage Heights, says Steve Cervantes, its executive director. The agency also plans to install energy-efficient water heaters, refrigerators, washers, dryers, and security improvements at both complexes using funds from the loan financed by Spokane Teachers Credit Union, Cervantes says.

The projects to be funded by the loan will generate about 40 jobs and enable the Spokane Housing Authority to preserve and enhance the homes of East Spokane residents, Cervantes says.

The loan qualifies for the federal Build America Bonds program, which is designed to encourage economic development by reducing the cost of borrowing, STCU says. That program, which was authorized through the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009, reimburses qualified borrowers 35 percent of their interest costs for certain loans, potentially saving the Spokane Housing Authority hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan, Cervantes says.

The loan refinances debt formerly owed to U.S. Bank, which had invested in the housing complexes to take advantage of tax credits when they were developed 12 years ago, Cervantes says.

Spokane Housing Authority, formerly Northeast Washington Housing Solutions, was formed in 1972 and serves 5,300 households in Spokane, Lincoln, Whitman, Stevens, and Pend Oreille counties.