Affordable Housing

Ravenswood Senior Living

CHICAGO — Evergreen Real Estate Group, Synergy Construction Group and the Chicago Housing Authority have completed construction of Ravenswood Senior Living, a 193-unit affordable seniors housing community in the Ravenswood neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. The property was previously the Ravenswood Hospital, which was built in 1974 and fell vacant in 2002. The redevelopment project cost $81 million and took a year-and-a-half to complete. Located between Damen and Ravenswood avenues, Ravenswood Senior Living is a 10-story building that is situated close to public transit, including the Damen and Montrose Brown Line stations and the Ravenswood Metra stop. The seniors housing property has 74 one-bedroom independent living apartments for Chicago Housing Authority residents, as well as 119 units for participants in the Illinois Supportive Living Program, an alternative to nursing home care that is administered by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. While the two communities are in the same building, the facilities have separate entrances and operate independently from each other. Evergreen is managing the independent living community, located at 4515 N. Winchester Ave., while Asbury Healthcare will operate the supportive living community, located at 1922 W. Sunnyside Ave. The independent living portion of the property …

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NRP-Group-San-Antonio

SAN ANTONIO — The NRP Group, a Cleveland-based developer, will build two affordable housing properties totaling 666 units in San Antonio. Seven07 Lofts will feature 318 units in one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom floor plans that will be restricted to renters earning between 40 and 70 percent of the area median income (AMI). Amenities at Seven07 Lofts will include a fitness center and a pool. Frontera Crossing will total 348 residences with the same unit configurations and rental restrictions. NRP Group is co-developing the properties with the San Antonio Housing Facility Corp. Kyle Kolesar of KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) secured $46.6 million in financing for Seven07 Lofts and $60.6 million in financing for Frontera Crossing on behalf of NRP Group.

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BOSTON — Developer WinnCos. has completed a $30.2 million project that converted the waterfront site of an obsolete public housing development in East Boston into a 52-unit mixed-income complex. The site now houses 22 apartments to be rented to low-income households and 30 condominiums to be sold at market-rate prices. The rental units feature one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom floor plans. MassHousing provided a $6.6 million permanent mortgage and $3.6 million in bridge loan financing for the development. Bank of America provided an $11.6 million construction loan and served as the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit investor. Enterprise Bank contributed an $8.6 million construction loan for the condo portion of the project.

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NEW YORK CITY — Berkadia has provided a $22.6 million HUD-insured loan for Seagirt Seniors Housing, an affordable housing property located in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens. The 12-story, 120,278-square-foot building was built in 1985 with 151 Section 8 apartment units and one employee unit. Laura Smith of Berkadia originated the financing, which was structured with a 35-year term and a 71 percent loan-to-value ratio, through HUD’s 223(f) program. The borrower, New York-based operator JASA, will use a portion of the proceeds to fund capital improvements. Planned upgrades include modernizing kitchens and bathrooms, replacing circuit breaker panels, renovating common areas and elevators and installing a new boiler system.  

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A few weeks before Thanksgiving last year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) made sweeping changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s multifamily business pursuits for 2021. The FHFA revised the previous structure that capped loan production at $200 billion combined for both government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). And unlike most years, that cap was spread across five quarters spanning from the beginning of fourth-quarter 2019 to the end of 2020. For 2021, the FHFA is once again using the traditional four-quarter time frame but is now directing the agencies to produce $140 billion in multifamily loans combined ($70 billion apiece), which is lower than $159 billion in loans closed by the GSEs and their lending partners last year: $76 billion for Fannie Mae and $83 billion for Freddie Mac. The FHFA is again doing away with its long list of exclusions for loans on properties that don’t count toward the cap. In the past, the agencies had no limits to finance certain multifamily categories, including communities with five to 50 units, seniors housing, rural properties and manufactured housing. The FHFA is maintaining its directive for the agencies to finance properties deemed as “mission-driven affordable housing” — or those affordable to households …

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Palladium-Simpson-Stuart-Dallas

DALLAS — Locally based developer Palladium USA has broken ground on Palladium Simpson Stuart, a 270-unit mixed-income project in South Dallas that is valued at $55 million. About 90 percent (243) of the units will be reserved for households earning between 40 and 80 percent of the area median income, while the remainder will be rented at market rates. Amenities will include a resort-style pool, dog park, trails, conference room, computer lab, kids’ playroom and a fitness center. HEDK is the project architect, and BBL Construction is the general contractor. PNC Bank provided construction financing for the project, and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs issued 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity. The first units are scheduled to be delivered in October 2022.

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ROCHESTER, MINN. — The Rochester office of Kraus-Anderson has broken ground on Bryk on Broadway, a $39.2 million affordable housing project in Rochester’s Destination Medical Center district. Owners Dirk Erickson and John and Marcia Bouquet are developing the property located at the corner of Civic Center Drive and North Broadway. Designed by ISG, the project will feature 180 units, 7,500 square feet of commercial and retail space and 140 parking stalls. The six-story development will include a fifth-floor community room with an outdoor terrace, lounge and fitness center. Completion is slated for late 2022. Of the 180 units, 54 will be offered at 50 percent of the area median income (AMI), 18 will be offered at 60 percent AMI and 108 will be offered at 80 percent AMI. NorthMarq arranged a $31.2 million construction loan for the project through a credit union. “The name Bryk came to us as a metaphor for something strong,” says Dirk Erickson, owner and developer. “Brick buildings are meant to last and our mission is ‘building a strong community.’ We want to provide a high-quality living experience for our tenants and hope to set a new standard in affordable housing, hence building a strong foundation …

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Sandy-Creek-Apartments-Bryan

BRYAN, TEXAS — Dominium, a developer and operator of affordable housing, has acquired a 140-unit property in the Central Texas city of Bryan that was built in 2005. According to Apartments.com, the property features two- and three-bedroom units and amenities such as a pool, fitness center, business center, clubhouse, playground, basketball court and a lounge. Dominium, which has already rebranded the property as Sandy Creek Apartments, will also implement a capital improvement plan beginning next year. The seller was undisclosed.

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LYONS, ILL. — Affordable Housing Investment Brokerage Inc. (AHIB) has arranged the $8.8 million sale of Riverwalk in Lyons, about 14 miles southwest of Chicago. Built in 2003, the six-story property includes 120 units. The majority of the units are rented under affordable housing guidelines, while 16 are rented at market rate. The community was developed using funds from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and the Illinois Housing Development Authority. Current affordability restrictions remain in place until 2033. Kyle Shoemaker of AHIB represented the seller, Barron Development LLC, as well as the buyer, New Frontier Cos. The buyer intends to operate the community as affordable housing for the foreseeable future, according to AHIB.

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Renaissance-Hills-Hauppauge-New-York

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — General contractor DJ Royce Construction Corp. will renovate Renaissance Hills, a 656-unit affordable housing community located in the Long Island village of Hauppauge. Hicksville, N.Y.-based Mark Design Studios designed the redevelopment, which included upgrades to unit interiors and amenity spaces. The property’s amenity package now consists of two pools, a sports court, dog park, outdoor grilling areas, a playground and a fitness and wellness center. Construction is set to begin this fall.

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