Liberty Bond Demand Favoring Housing?

An increasing proportion of the demand for Liberty Bonds is coming from those interested in building housing, according to Frances Walton, chief financial officer of the Empire State Development Corp.At their inception, Liberty Bonds were conceived as a way to encourage commercial development in Lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. But the demand has come more from those interested in building housing and in developing in other parts of New York City. This change in demand will likely result in an increase in the proportion of Liberty Bond money allotted for housing when a proposal to extend the program is written, the ESDC official told a Nov. 12 roundtable on rebuilding Lower Manhattan sponsored by The Bond Market Association and The Municipal Forum of New York. The program's mandate expires at the end of 2004.