WHITESTOWN, IND. — KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) has provided a $25 million loan through Freddie Mac as well as $21.8 million of low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity to Indianapolis-based Kittle Property Group Inc. The capital will be used to build Meadows on Main, an affordable housing property in Whitestown near Indianapolis. Meadows on Main will operate under the Section 42 LIHTC program and will serve residents earning between 40 and 70 percent of the area median income. The property will include 264 units across 10 buildings. Robbie Lynn of KeyBank’s CDLI team and John-Paul Vachon of Key Community Development Corp. structured the financing.
CINCINNATI — Fairfield Homes Inc., in partnership with Kingsley + Co. and the Avondale Development Corp., has begun development of Blair Lofts, a $15.5 million affordable housing project in Cincinnati’s Avondale neighborhood. The four-story, 64-unit development will serve residents who earn 30 to 60 percent of the area median income. Located on the corner of Blair Avenue and Reading Road, the project will include a community room, community kitchen, fitness center, onsite storage and onsite parking. Completion is slated for summer 2022. The project received financing through the allocation of federal low-income housing tax credits by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, with Ohio Capital Corp. for Housing serving as the equity syndicator. Fifth Third Bank is the construction lender. The development also received financial support from the City of Cincinnati, the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Berardi + Partners is the project architect and Gorsuch Construction is the general contractor. Fairfield Homes will serve as property manager.
MONROE, LA. — Hunt Capital Partners has invested $8.8 million in construction financing to fund the redevelopment of the Miller-Roy Building in Monroe. The investment includes $6.4 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity and $2.4 million in state and federal Historic Tax Credit equity. The project will also include the construction of multifamily housing units in a newly built property known as Bayou Savoy Building. Michael Echols Enterprises is the developer for the project. Built in 1929, the historic three-story Miller-Roy Building will be reimagined to feature two studio apartments and 16 one-bedroom units, as well as 3,851 square feet of commercial space on the first floor. The Miller-Roy Building used to be the office for one of the first African American newspapers in the South, and was home to many African American-owned businesses at the time. The newly constructed Bayou Savoy Building will span four stories and comprise 48 two-bedroom units. The property will allow a range of incomes for leasing from 20 percent of area median income up to 80 percent, and 14 units will be in the workforce housing range. Project-based rental assistance will be provided for 24 of the 66 LIHTC units, and …
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Rethink Community, a New York-based real estate development firm and investment manager of social impact projects in urban areas, purchased 21 acres on Nashville’s east side for a new development dubbed Rethink Community – Nashville. The site is two miles north of downtown Nashville and a half-mile from Oracle Corp.’s upcoming 65-acre campus. Rethink Community, a subsidiary of Rethink Capital Partners and a division of Seavest Investment Group, plans to build workforce apartments, for-sale townhomes, lofts and neighborhood retail and dining at the site, as well as a one-acre public park. Once complete, the firm plans to deliver programs and services for residents. BlackBirch Capital acted as exclusive advisor to Rethink Community on the capital raise for the project. In addition to Nashville, Rethink Community has projects in the development pipeline in Atlanta, Cleveland, Durham and Portland.
UNIVERSAL CITY, TEXAS — Lument has provided an $18.6 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Meadows Apartments, a 216-unit affordable housing property in Universal City, a northeastern suburb of San Antonio. All units at the property, which was built in 1972, are reserved for renters earning 80 percent or less of the area median income (AMI). Marc Suarez of Lument originated the loan through Fannie Mae’s Green Rewards program on behalf of the sponsor, locally based multifamily development and investment firm Lynd Co.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has issued a statement in strong opposition to legislation being considered by Congress to create a national eviction moratorium through the end of the year. The legislation would extend the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) residential eviction ban, which was created in September 2020 and extended three times before expiring on Saturday, Aug. 1. The House of Representatives, which is currently on its scheduled August recess, was unable to pass new legislation before the eviction moratorium deadline. The Senate will begin its August recess next week. NMHC led a coalition of national real estate trade groups in sending a letter urging Congress to focus instead on accelerating the distribution of nearly $50 billion in federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds that were provided by Congress earlier this year. The NMHC states that the eviction moratorium jeopardizes the financial stability of housing providers and is not constructive in supporting the continued affordability and availability of housing. The Washington, D.C.-based trade association supports federal programs as a means to help provide renter relief benefits, which it cites as helping millions of Americans pay their rent amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Taylor Williams In an era in which land and construction costs are perpetually on the rise, developers of affordable housing must be able to navigate a complex web of federal, state and local programs in order to secure gap financing — the capital that covers the delta between total development costs and those covered by tax credit equity, municipal bonds or other types of subsidies. Understanding and effectively utilizing the various initiatives and incentives — density bonuses, private activity bonds, tax increment reinvestment zones, energy efficiency compliance — is no easy task. Time and manpower aside, this process is further complicated by the fact that state and municipalities have their own laws and regulations when it comes to these programs. But successfully navigating them is key to eliminating development costs not covered by tax credits — the critical piece of financing that lies at the heart of virtually every affordable housing project in Texas. For without these subsidies, the economics of paying market-rate land prices and record-high construction costs to develop housing in which rent levels are capped simply doesn’t work. “As developers that want to build high-quality affordable housing that’s basically indistinguishable from market-rate product, what we need …
CHICAGO — The Community Builders has unveiled plans to develop a $102 million, 20-story affordable housing project in Chicago’s Loop. The high-rise development has been selected as the winner of the City of Chicago’s C40 Reinventing Cities competition, which encourages carbon neutral and sustainable development. The 207 rental units will range from studio to two-bedroom and are restricted to tenants earning between 30 to 80 percent of area median income (AMI). Slated to occupy city-owned land at the corner of Van Buren Street and Plymouth Court, the project was selected via a request for proposals process, which was issued last year through the international C40 Reinventing Cities competition. Designed by Studio Gang along with DesignBridge and JAQ Corp, the “Assemble Chicago” project was selected over three other net-zero proposals due to its superior design, commitment to affordability, family-sized units, development team experience, proposed purchase price and community feedback, according to the city. The site is currently occupied by a vacant parking garage and vacant land. Located at the nexus of multiple transit lines, the building will include a two-level podium with a food hall for minority-owned restaurants, a produce grocer and wellness clinic. Plans also call for approximately $2 million in improvements for …
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Standard Communities has acquired Osprey Place Apartments in North Charleston. Built in 2004, the 108-unit affordable housing property located at 2390 Baker Hospital Blvd. North comprises five garden-style apartment buildings situated on 19 acres. Community amenities include a laundry room, playground and off-street parking. The total capitalization of the transaction exceeded $22 million, including over $82,000 per unit in renovation costs. Standard Communities purchased the property on a long-term ground lease in a public-private partnership with nonprofit organization Housing on Merit and South Carolina State Finance and Development Authority (SC Housing). Regions Bank provided Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) for the transaction in partnership with SC Housing. Gene Levental of SVN Affordable | Levental Realty represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The deal brings Standard Communities’ affordable housing portfolio in the Charleston area to more than 500 units. Based in New York and Los Angeles, Standard Communities has a national portfolio exceeding 15,500 apartment units, including approximately 11,500 affordable and workforce housing units. The firm has completed more than $3 billion of affordable housing acquisitions and rehabilitations nationwide.
CONROE, TEXAS — Colliers Mortgage has provided a $5.8 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Bellshire Apartments, a 311-unit affordable housing property located in the northern Houston suburb of Conroe. The community was originally built between 1974 and 1978 and renovated between 2017 and 2019. Colliers Mortgage originated the 10-year loan on behalf of the borrower, an entity doing business as Merced-Bellshire LLC.