Zachary, Linda, Joshua Foster enjoy
their new Southfield home, inside and
out.

The Neighborhood Project
has granted its first
incentive loans
to attract Jewish
families to Oak Park
and Southfield

F RST 111 I DEN

ROBYN KLEEREKOPER

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Special to The Jewish News

'd term the area a 'Jewish na-
tional treasure'," asserts South-
field resident David Foster, ex-
plaining his family's decision to
buy their new house. "There's a
Jewish ambience in this area. We
think it's special because of the
synagogues, the kosher butchers, the
bakeries, and the bookstores."
Foster, his wife Linda and their
two young children are recipients of a
general incentive loan from the
Jewish Welfare Federation's
Neighborhood Project. The recently
formed Project was set up to assist
Jewish homeowners to buy homes in

specific areas of Southfield and Oak
Park as a means of encouraging the
continued stability of those cities. By
late Deceniber, 30 no-interest loans,
totalling $150,000, had been ap-
proved, and 15-20 additional loans are
expected in the next two months. The
loans are either towards a downpay-
ment on the mortgage, or — as in - the
Fosters' case — for general incentive,
and are to be repaid within a
maximum of seven years.
The families must be approved by
an accredited banking institution for a
mortgage before the Neighborhood
Project will give them a loan. This fact

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