The Key West Citizen

Usina Predicts Easy Loans For Some Builders

Says Key West Will Grow Fast In Next

Tells Kiwanis Club Directors Last Night,
Trying To Induce More Liberal Plan

Leonard A. Usina, president of Florida National Bank of Miami, and lieutenant governor of the 11th Florida district of Kiwanis International, last night predicted rapid growth for Key West during the next few years.

Usina paid an official visit to the Key West Kiwanis club at its meeting last night in his capacity as lieutenant governor. He made his statements concerning the local economic picture at a special meeting of the club's board of directors following the regular meeting.

The Miami bank official revealed he has personally been endeavoring to induce directors who control the policy of the bank here to adopt a more liberal plan in the matter of construction loans. At present, the local bank is limited to financing FHA loans to three years.

This puts prospective home builders in the position of having to have extremely large down payments in order to amortize loans in a three year period.

In addition Key West has a rating with FHA which precludes advancement of building money in sufficient quantity to cover the added cost of material transportation without causing a hardship to small home builder.

Usina predicted a loosening of these restrictions in the near future and with it the subsequent rapid growth of the city.

The bank official admitted that Miami as a whole considers Key West an outland community and mistakenly criticizes anything that is not Miami. A process of education is needed he said to make the people realize that anything that helps Key West also helps Miami.

Jerry Trevor, president of the Florida National Bank of Key West, was a guest of Usina at last night's meeting, as was Charles Cushman, secretary of the Miami Kiwanis club.