LAFAYETTE, IND. — RealAmerica Development LLC is developing H38 East Apartments, a 32-unit affordable housing project in Lafayette. The new development leverages the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority program Moving Forward 2.0. This program is aimed at providing affordable, energy-efficient housing and transportation. All of the units will be priced affordably for low- to moderate-income individuals, with 30 units priced at 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) and two units priced at 50 percent AMI. The project will include solar power and geothermal features that use 35 percent less energy than a typical apartment development. Development partner Area IV Agency will provide an onsite life skills coach mentoring program that will assist families in education and career development. The community will include a classroom and technology center as well as a playground, fitness center and recreation area. Mortgage banking firm Merchants Capital secured an undisclosed amount of funding for the project. The city of Lafayette and Lafayette Housing Authority provided HOME funds and a tax abatement. Project costs are estimated at $7.4 million, according to the Lafayette Journal & Courier. A timeline for completion was not disclosed.
CHICAGO — Greystone has provided $70.4 million in permanent financing through Fannie Mae for Morningside North Apartments in Chicago. Under a 20-year Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract, all of the units at the 256-unit community are reserved for very-low income families making up to 60 percent of the area median income. The Fannie Mae refinancing has a 17-year term. Financed under the Fannie Mae MBS (Mortgage-Backed Securities) as Tax-Exempt Bond program, the borrower received tax-exempt financing from the Illinois Housing Development Authority in the form of long-term bonds. Additionally, Aegon is providing $30.5 million in tax credit equity that will be utilized for planned renovations. The transaction qualifies for the Fannie Mae Green Rewards Program, as the borrower plans to reduce water usage by 30 percent and energy use by greater than 15 percent. Built in 1981, Morningside North Apartments is an 18-story community made of primarily one-bedroom units. Amenities include a library, clubroom, community room, laundry room and storage space.
HAILEY, IDAHO — KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI), along with KeyBank Real Estate Capital (KBREC), has secured $27 million to refinance and renovate Balmoral Apartments. The property is located in Hailey, a small city in central Idaho approximately 125 miles east of Boise. The financing included $10.1 million provided by CDLI, as well as $17.3 million from Freddie Mac arranged by KBREC’s commercial mortgage group. Completed in 2002, the property is a 192-unit, affordable garden-style apartment complex on four acres. Balmoral comprises 19 two- and three-story buildings offering five different floor plans with one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Site amenities include a clubhouse, fitness center, playground, picnic areas and access to an adjacent park with a soccer field and basketball courts. Dominium, which acquired the property in 2015, intends to moderately rehabilitate the property with a construction budget estimated at $52,000 per unit. The renovations will be conducted during a nine-month period while tenants are in place. Balmoral operates under the Section 42 LIHTC Program with seven units reseved for residents making up to 30 percent of area median income (AMI), 11 units at 40 percent AMI and 174 units at 60 percent AMI. Kelly Frank of Key’s …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — A joint venture between debt and equity provider The Community Development Trust, the Housing Authority of the City of Austin and its nonprofit affiliate, the Austin Affordable Housing Corp., has purchased The Bridge at Asher Apartments for $70 million. The 452-unit affordable housing community was built in 2003 and is located on the city’s southwest side. The seller was not disclosed. With this acquisition, the joint venture now owns 1,716 units of affordable housing in the state capital.
QUINCY, MASS. — WinnCompanies and NeighborWorks Housing Solutions have completed construction of The Watson, a 140-unit affordable housing project in the southern Boston suburb of Quincy. Project costs were approximately $44 million. The Watson features 86 apartments available to residents earning 110 percent or less than the area median income (AMI). Twenty eight residences will be rented to households earning 50 percent or less of AMI, and 26 units are reserved for market-rate housing. The Watson was developed at the site of a former shipyard and is close to being fully preleased.
KOKOMO, IND. — The Annex Group LLC, a student housing and affordable housing developer, has unveiled plans to develop a 50-unit affordable housing property at 918 N. Washington St. in Kokomo. The developer plans to break ground this month with completion slated for summer 2020. Known as Union at Washington, the property will include amenities such as a fitness center, playground, computer center and outdoor grilling area. River Hills Bank provided construction financing of approximately $6.5 million. Cinnaire provided $7 million in tax credit equity. Annex also worked in collaboration with the Kokomo Community Development Corp. and Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. T&H Investment Properties LLC is serving as co-developer and co-owner of the project.
ALEXANDRIA, VA. — AHC Inc. will break ground on The Spire, a 113-unit affordable housing development situated on a two-acre plot in Alexandria owned by Episcopal Church of the Resurrection. The Spire will include one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, including 12 fully accessible homes, that will serve households with incomes ranging from 40 percent to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). The Spire will cost $48.3 million to develop and has received funds from a number of local state and national sources, including $23 million in tax credit equity from the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA), a $9.9 million loan from the City of Alexandria, a $1.3 million loan from Virginia/National Housing Trust Funds, a $500,000 loan from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, a $11.5 million first trust loan from Capital One/Freddie Mac and $500,000 funding from NeighborWorks America. The City of Alexandria also provided a $350,000 rental assistance grant to make 12 apartments deeply affordable, which targets households making 25 percent to 35 percent of the AMI. The ground breaking is slated to take place Tuesday, June 18 at 3:30 p.m.
AcquisitionsAffordable HousingFloridaGeorgiaLoansMultifamilyNorth CarolinaSouth CarolinaSoutheastVirginia
Bellwether Arranges $115M in Acquisition Financing for 12 Affordable Housing Communities in the Southeast
CLEVELAND — Bellwether Enterprise has arranged a total of $115 million in acquisition financing for 12 affordable housing communities in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Virginia. The borrower, Atlantic Housing Foundation Inc., used the financing to purchase the 1,776-unit portfolio. The South Carolina communities include Shemwood Crossing Apartments in Greenville, Boulder Creek Apartments in Greenville, Crescent Hill Apartments in Spartanburg and Spring Grove in Taylors. The Virginia communities include James River Crossing in Lynchburg, Gretna Village Apartments in Gretna and Afton Gardens Apartments in Roanoke. The North Carolina properties are Timber Ridge Apartments in Charlotte, Cedar Moor Apartments in Raleigh and Brentwood Crossing in High Point. Brittany Woods & Park Chase Apartments in Valdosta, Ga.; and Temple Court in Miami were also included in the acquisition. Bellwether Enterprise arranged the financing in three transactions and arranged a $14.5 million bridge loan through Tilden Park Capital Management LP for the acquisition of Shemwood Crossing. The Cleveland-based mortgage broker also arranged the equity needed for the purchases of James River Crossing and Gretna Village Apartments, which Atlantic Housing Foundation used to assume existing loans from the Virginia Housing Development Authority. The remaining nine properties were financed through a $69.6 million, 10-year, fixed-rate Freddie Mac loan. Phil Melton of Bellwether Enterprise arranged the …
KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Woda Cooper has opened White Oak Crossing, an $8.5 million affordable housing project in Knoxville. Units were reserved for families that earn between 50 percent and 60 percent of the area median income. In Knox County, for example, this equates to $23,350 (50 percent AMI) and $28,020 (60 percent AMI) in annual income for a single person or up to $33,300 (50 percent AMI) and $39,960 (60 percent AMI) for a family of four. Larger families are also eligible. Monthly rents at White Oak Crossing range from $605 to $780 per month. The 60-unit community offers two- and three-bedroom floor plans and is located at 290 Quaker Way, six miles southeast of downtown Knoxville. Communal amenities include a community room with kitchenette, 24-hour fitness room and a playground. White Oak Crossing was made possible with the allocation of housing tax credits by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA). Regions Bank was the primary equity investor and provided a construction-to-permanent loan through HUD’s 221(d)(4) program. Woda Construction Inc. served as the general contractor, and Nashville-based Bernard L. Weinstein & Associates was the architect.
VICTORVILLE, CALIF. — Greystone has funded a $2.4 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Hillcrest Court Apartments, an affordable housing property in Victorville. Cody Field of Greystone’s San Francisco office, in coordination with the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino, originated the transaction. The $2.4 million Fannie Mae loan carries a 30-year term at a fixed rate and is self-amortizing. The undisclosed borrower plans to use proceeds of the loan to recapitalize acquisition financing in conjunction with city financing sources.