LOS ANGELES – Developers who build affordable housing units can borrow up to $10 million per project from a $100 million trust announced Monday by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former Sen. John Edwards.

Villaraigosa said the New Generation Fund will create at least 6,000 affordable units in Los Angeles over the next 10 years. The fund is expected to grow to $150 million next year, thanks to donations from banks, insurance companies and nonprofit lenders.

Villaraigosa said the loans will remove a “major financial obstacle” for builders by providing predevelopment and acquisition money.

“As you know, the affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles is nothing new,” Villaraigosa said at a press conference. “For years the pool of affordable housing has been shrinking even as the city's need has increased.”

Since 2005, $1.2 billion has been invested to build more than 5,300 affordable housing units in Los Angeles, Villaraigosa said.

Enterprise Community Partners, which provides financial assistance to developers who build affordable housing, will administer the loans.

Edwards, who also attended the press conference, said government can do more to combat poverty. He said politicians should focus on raising the minimum wage and expanding unemployment insurance.

“We have to convince the American people what is an ultimate truth, which is that we're in this thing together,” he said.