DUBUQUE, IOWA — SVN has brokered the sale of Hillcrest Apartments in Dubuque for $5 million. The 108-unit affordable housing property is located at 3290 Hillcrest Road in eastern Iowa. Reid Bennett and Cody Doran of SVN | Chicago Commercial represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer was an affordable housing developer and owner.
CHICAGO — Kiser Group and Affordable Housing Investment Brokerage Inc. (AHIB) have negotiated the sale of 167 affordable housing units in Chicago for $11.2 million. Lyndale Place is a 67-unit property located at 2575 W. Lyndale St. in the Logan Square neighborhood. Renaissance West is a 111-unit building located at 2517 W. Fullerton Ave. in the Bucktown neighborhood. The Habitat Co. purchased the portfolio from Renaissance Cos. Michael D’Agnostino of Kiser Group and Kyle Shoemaker of AHIB brokered the transaction.
CINCINNATI — KeyBank Community Development Lending & Investment has provided $8.3 million in acquisition financing for Morgan Apartments in Cincinnati. The 48-unit affordable housing property features six vacant buildings. All units are reserved for families earning between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income. Kelly Frank of KeyBank originated the financing on behalf of the borrowers, The Model Group Inc. and Over-the-Rhine Community Housing Inc (OTRH). The Morgan Apartments will offer early childhood education, before and after school care, credit counseling, financial literacy programs, education assistance, job training and placement assistance through OTRH. The Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing provided the low-income housing tax credits, federal historic tax credit and state historic tax credit equity for the project.
ROCKY MOUNT AND ZEBULON, N.C. — The Woda Group Inc. has broken ground on two multifamily communities in North Carolina: Ravenwood Crossing in Rocky Mount and Shepard Greene in Zebulon. The $9 million Rocky Mount development will include 80 affordable townhomes for seniors, families and single renters. Financing was provided through low income housing tax credits (LIHTC), loans allocated by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, the City of Rocky Mount, Community Affordable Housing Equity Corp. (CAHEC) and the Bank of Tennessee. Shepard Greene, a $6.4 million community in Zebulon, will include 50 affordable homes for seniors age 55 and over. Bank of America is providing equity for the project and a USDA Rural Development 538 loan will be implemented by Bellwether Enterprise. The project is also utilizing LIHTC and other state loans allocated by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.
MINNEAPOLIS — Dougherty Mortgage LLC has provided a $34.1 million HUD loan for the construction of 1500 Nicollet in Minneapolis. Construction of the 183-unit affordable housing property will involve the redevelopment of the southwest corner of 15th Street and Nicollet Avenue. All units will be restricted to families earning 60 percent or less of the area median income. Property amenities will include a community room, fitness center, yoga studio, rooftop decks, dog park and first-floor retail space. Dougherty originated the 40-year loan on behalf of the borrower, Minneapolis Leased Housing Associates IX LLLP. The project will also receive equity from the sale of low-income housing tax credits and funds from the Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County for environmental cleanup costs. Construction has begun and completion is slated for spring 2019.
UPPER DUBLIN, PA. — Citizens Bank has provided $17 million in financing to NHM Housing, a partnership of Pennrose Properties and Montgomery County Housing Authority, for a redevelopment project in Upper Dublin. The project will replace 50 units of outdated public housing at 300 Linden Ave. known as North Hills Manor. The existing units, which were built in 1954, will be demolished and replaced with 50 new apartment units in 17 residential buildings ranging in size from one- to four-bedrooms. Additionally, the redevelopment will feature a community building offering a common room, computer lab and property management office. The units are dedicated to families with incomes at or below 60 percent of area median income.
MADISON, WIS. — Royal Capital Group has begun development of The Flats at Grandview Commons in Madison. The $20.3 million affordable housing property will feature 94 units. The property will include six two-story buildings with 28 two-bedroom units and 66 three-bedroom units. Amenities will include a library, computer lab, meeting space and playground. The project is slated to open in fall 2018. The project team includes architect Engberg Anderson and general contractor Horizon Construction. ACC Management Group will manage the property. The Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority provided $11 million in both construction and permanent financing, as well as approved the use of low-income housing tax credits. UnitedHealthcare provided $5.4 million in equity funding through a partnership with Cinnaire and Minnesota Equity Fund. The partnership plans to invest over $85 million to help build 13 new communities in Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region.
Always on the lookout for new yield-producing products, commercial property investors have turned affordable housing into the latest hot alternative real estate asset. Backed by government subsidies and incentives, affordable housing investments provide the relative safety and income of a high-yield Treasury bond or net-lease investment, which is hard to pass up in the crowded field that has driven up conventional property prices. “A lot of cash buyers and funds have come into the affordable housing market. They see it as a stable asset class,” says Heidi Burkhart, founder and president of New York-based Dane Real Estate, an affordable housing brokerage that has closed some $1.5 billion in transactions since 2008. “It’s a cool time to be in affordable housing; it’s a hot topic.” It’s going to get hotter. Economic and cultural trends portend a shortage of the product for years to come as college debt, unpredictable job creation, high home prices, rising rents and other variables are blocking home ownership and weighing down renters, according to observers and Affordable Housing: Emerging Asset Class, Global Investment Possibilities, a report issued by CBRE in July. In New York City, some 54 percent of renters in 2015 were “cost-burdened,” paying more than …
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC has arranged $42.1 million in refinancing for three affordable housing properties in Charlotte. Victor Agusta of Bellwether Enterprise arranged the loans under the FHA 223(f) program on behalf of the borrower, Horizon Development Properties Inc. (HDP), an affiliate of the Charlotte Housing Authority. HDP received a $24.1 million loan for Southside Homes. The income-based housing development serves seniors, families and individuals with disabilities and includes 381 one- to four-bedroom units. The property is located in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood. HDP also received an $18 million loan for CHA Towers, which includes Edwin Tower in Uptown Charlotte’s Fourth Ward and Charlottetown Terrace in Charlotte’s Dilworth neighborhood. The newly redeveloped Charlottetown Terrace includes 161 units and is LEED Gold-certified. Both loans paid off existing debt and funded reserves for a portfolio of over 40 properties that were converting from a public housing subsidiary program through HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program.
ST. PAUL, MINN. — Dougherty Mortgage has arranged a $31.5 million HUD 221(d)(4) loan for the construction of Union Flats in St. Paul. The 217-unit affordable housing property will be located at the intersection of Territorial Road and Hampden Avenue. All units will be restricted to residents earning 60 percent or less of the area median income. The project will be constructed on a site currently occupied by the Hunt Electric Corp. building, which will be demolished. Amenities will include a community room with kitchen, outdoor patio, fitness room, rooftop deck, dog park and storage lockers. Dougherty arranged the 40-year loan for the borrower, St. Paul Leased Housing Associates VIII LLLP. The project will also receive equity through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, as well as funds from the Metropolitan Council (a regional government agency), the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, and Ramsey County, to be used for environmental cleanup costs.
