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.
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 …
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.
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.
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.