LAS VEGAS — Volunteers of America National Services (VOANS) has broken ground on Phase II of Desert Oasis, an affordable seniors housing property in Las Vegas. Phase II will add 43 new units to the existing 75 units in the Desert Oasis community. The building will include a recreational clubhouse facility with a computer room, exercise room, laundry facilities and a community garden. Desert Oasis will be built with energy-efficient systems using green building techniques and including solar panels and photovoltaics. The entire development will be Energy Star rated. Funding partners include Nevada Housing Division’s Low Income Tax Credit program, City of Las Vegas- and Clark County-provided HOME funds and United Health Care. The building is scheduled for completion in fall 2022. VOANS is the wholly controlled nonprofit subsidiary of Volunteers of America created as the sponsor and parent entity for new Volunteers of America housing development projects.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Locally based developer Cumby Group will redevelop a site on Manor Road in East Austin with three adjacent projects that will collectively add more than 800 multifamily units, including 80 affordable housing residences, and 150,000 square feet of commercial space to the local supply. Cumby Group purchased the sites, which span nine acres and more than a full city block, in 2019 and 2020. Construction is underway on The Emma, a 146-unit project at 3219 Manor Road, and two buildings housing between 450 and 500 units, along with commercial space, are planned next door at 3115 Manor Road. Lastly, Cumby expects to build about 200 units at 3033 Manor Road. The projects will include space for neighborhood gatherings that could feature food trucks or farmers markets. The development’s affordable housing units will be reserved for renters earning 60 percent or less of the area median income.
MANOR, TEXAS — Barings has provided a $43.5 million permanent loan for Yager Flats, a 300-unit affordable housing community in Manor, an eastern suburb of Austin. The $73 million development will offer one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units that will be reserved for renters earning between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income. Amenities will include a clubhouse, community room, fitness center, pool and a playground, and residents will also have access to adult education, workforce training, afterschool programming and health and wellness services. The borrower, Elmington Capital Group, is developing the property in partnership with Red Stone Equity Partners, which contributed $29.3 million in tax credit equity. Dallas-based Humphreys & Partners Architects is designing the project. Bank of America provided the original $40 million construction loan. A tentative completion date was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between Mega Development, operator Lantern Organization and the New York City Department of Housing & Preservation will develop Timbale Terrace, a 330-unit affordable housing community in East Harlem. The centerpiece of the community will be a 16,000-square-foot music and arts center that will be operated by the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance. As part of that partnership, adult residents at Timbale Terrace will have access to music-based vocational training, while children can enjoy arts and music education and afterschool programs. Information about income restrictions and a construction timeline was not disclosed.
LOS ANGELES — Standard Communities and Faring have formed a joint venture with plans to create more than $2 billion of middle-income housing across California over the next 18 to 24 months. The strategic partnership, Standard-Faring Essential Housing, will engage in both ground-up construction of middle-income rental housing and the acquisition and conversion of existing market-rate properties. The partnership recently created more than 650 units of dedicated middle-income housing in Southern California with a total capitalization of over $400 million. The transactions utilized tax-exempt bond financing provided by CSCDA Community Improvement Authority, a state program that seeks to improve the availability of housing for Californians earning approximately the same as the area median income (AMI). Upon taking ownership, CSCDA Community Improvement Authority worked with Standard-Faring Essential Housing as project administrator to immediately lower rents for new residents who qualify with incomes between 80 percent and 120 percent of AMI. “By focusing on middle-income housing, California cities can ensure that middle-income families and essential workers such as first responders, hospital and healthcare staff, and teachers can afford to live near their jobs in the communities they serve,” says Jeffrey Jaeger, principal and co-founder of Standard Communities. “This joint venture will provide …
LAWRENCE, KAN. — The Annex Group has unveiled plans to develop Union at the Loop, a $43 million affordable housing project in Lawrence, about midway between Topeka and Kansas City. Located at 3250 Michigan St., the project will include 248 units for renters earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. In Lawrence, that translates to an income up to $57,300. Amenities will include a community room, exercise room, playground and computer room. The development will be within walking distance of public transportation, grocery stores and restaurants. Completion is slated for October 2022. Partners on the project include Hayes Gibson Property Services, Wallace Architects LLC, Summit LIHTC Consulting and Crocket Engineering. Kansas Housing Resources Corp. provided a 4 percent tax credit allocation alongside a tax-exempt bond issuance by Kansas Development Finance Authority. Merchants Capital provided a $35 million construction loan. Aegon Real Assets provided $16.7 million in tax credit equity.
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.