PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A partnership between developer Pennrose, the I-95 Redevelopment Commission and the City of Providence has broken ground on a 127-unit mixed-income residential project in the state capital’s Fox Point neighborhood. Phase I of the project will consist of 66 affordable housing and market-rate units, retail space and a childcare facility. Residences will come in studio, one- and two-bedroom formats. Income-restricted units will be reserved for renters earning between 30 and 120 percent of the area median income. Delivery of Phase I is slated for next September. Eastern Bank provided a construction loan and served as the investor of the tax credit equity used to finance the project. Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust will provide permanent debt.
AURORA, COLO. — Grovewood Community Development has broken ground on Sapling Grove Apartments, a four-story, mixed-income apartment community in Aurora that is slated for completion in late 2024. Located at 10151 E. Jewell Ave., the first phase of the property will feature 81 units in a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, a rooftop deck and lounge, work pods, an exercise room and an onsite community resource center offering health- and wellness-focused resident programs and services. The property will also feature community spaces for resident gatherings, intergenerational lifelong learning workshops, outdoor recreation via walking trails, a fenced playground, an outdoor exercise stations and gardens. The project is being financed through 22 grant, loan and equity sources provided collectively by the City of Aurora, Arapahoe County, the Colorado Division of Housing, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Impact Development Fund, the Aurora Housing Authority, National Development Council and Sugar Creek Capital. Additional funding includes a four-year grant awarded by The Colorado Health Foundation. BC Builders is serving as the project’s general contractor, and Santulan Architecture is serving as architect.
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Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Industry Adjusts to HUD Curveball on Income Limits
New income limits for low-income and very-low-income housing in 2023 represent a mixed blessing for the industry’s providers, who gain more potential renters but face ubiquitous caps that restrain their ability to adjust rents. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) publishes the income limits annually based on changes in each housing area’s median income, and typically places caps on outlier markets to prevent wide year-to-year swings. From 2010 through 2021, about 10 percent of areas were capped each year. Also in that period, the caps predictably checked the increase in an area’s qualifying income levels to no more than double the annual percent change in national median income. HUD published national median income based on three-year-trailing American Community Survey (ACS) data that HUD adjusted forward using the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In 2022, however, HUD omitted the CPI factor and based limits on historical survey data alone, producing lower results for median incomes and a smaller percentage change to be doubled into a cap. Even so, calculated incomes rose significantly, spurring HUD to cap increases in 57 percent of areas. Industry experts had predicted HUD would add the CPI adjustment back into its calculations in 2023, resulting …
SAN ANTONIO — A partnership between OCI Development, Atlantic Pacific Cos. and Opportunity Home San Antonio has broken ground on Vista at Silver Oaks, a 76-unit affordable housing project that will be located on the city’s north-central side. Residences will feature two- and three-bedroom layouts and will be entirely reserved for renters earning 60 percent or less of the area median income. In addition to business and fitness centers, residents will have access to services such as monthly social events, tax preparation classes, health and wellness programming and afterschool care. PNC Bank and Stellar Bank both contributed to the financing of the project, specifics of which were not disclosed. Delivery is slated for summer 2024.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Capstone Cos. has negotiated the sale of The Wallace Studios, a 131-unit affordable housing community located at 97 Wallace Road in Nashville. Built in 1974 as an Americas Best Value motel, the property is situated at the intersection of I-24 and Harding Place. The Wallace Studios is the fourth motel conversion property for the buyer, AGB Real Estate, who partnered with SL Cap and RBSR LLC on the acquisition. Austin Heithcock, Adam Klenk, Jordan Arand, Josh White and Blake Wiser of Capstone brokered the transaction. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
PASADENA, CALIF. — A partnership between Community Builders Group and Bridge Financial Advisors is opening Pasadena Studios, a $45 million affordable housing property in Pasadena. The six-story community will offer 180 micro-units, ranging from 245 square feet to 270 square feet. Each apartment will feature a private balcony, offering an indoor-outdoor living experience and additional square footage. The 56,000-square-foot asset features free internet service, a fitness center, laundry room, landscaped rooftop deck with seating, two grilling stations, fire features, landscaped courtyard, outdoor seating areas, lobby area seating with a kitchenette and community space, two elevators, secure entrances, security surveillance and bike storage. The project team includes Westport Construction, Natoma Architects and LCRA. WinnResidential, the property management arm of WinnCompanies, will manage the community.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based firm Douglaston Development is nearing completion of a 188-unit affordable seniors housing project in The Bronx. The 12-story building at 2856 Webster Ave., which is adjacent to the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG), represents Phase I of a larger development. Phase II consists of 277 affordable seniors housing residences and 8,000 square feet of retail space. Units are reserved for households earning 50 percent or less of the area median income. Douglaston is developing the project through a 99-year ground lease with NYBG. Stephen B. Jacobs Group is the project architect, and Levine Builders is the general contractor and construction manager. The first move-ins are now underway.
CHICAGO — Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) has broken ground on Fifth City Commons, an affordable housing development located on a long-vacant site in the city’s East Garfield Park area. Phase I will consist of 4,300 square feet of commercial space and 43 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units. Completion is slated for mid-2024. The City of Chicago selected POAH for this project in 2019 as part of the C40 Reinventing Cities competition, an international competition designed to attract highly sustainable development examples to urban sites. POAH has used the time since then for extensive community outreach to ensure the final product reflects the community’s desires. The project is named for The Fifth City Human Development Project, a community development organization active in the area. Fifth City Commons, located blocks from the Chicago Transit Authority’s Green Line and the Blue Line Kedzie train stations, will be reserved for families earning 30 to 80 percent of the area median income. The three-story building part of Phase I will include community rooms, a resident terrace, fitness room, three laundry rooms and onsite management offices. Phase II will be built across the street on the north side of Fifth Avenue and is slated …
ST. PAUL, MINN. — Colliers Mortgage has provided an $18.3 million HUD 221(d)(4) loan for the substantial rehabilitation of Sherman Forbes Housing in St. Paul. The Section 8 multifamily property features 104 one- and two-bedroom units. Amenities include onsite laundry, a playground, community patio and leasing office. In addition to the HUD-insured first mortgage, the project will utilize 4 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits and tax-exempt bonds. Colliers Securities LLC, an affiliate of Colliers Mortgage, underwrote the bonds. The 40-year loan features a 40-year amortization schedule. Sherman Forbes Housing Partners LLC, an affiliate of Vitus Group LLC, was the borrower.
LANTANA, FLA. — Miami-based Integra Investments has purchased Lantana Village Square, a 165,000-square-foot shopping center located at 1001 S. Dixie Highway in Lantana, a town in South Florida’s Palm Beach County. The buyer plans to raze the center’s vacant K-Mart department store and develop workforce housing that is affordable for Lantana renters. The overall development is situated on a 19-acre site within one mile of South Palm Beach. Lantana Village Square’s existing retailers such as Winn-Dixie, Subway and H&R Block will remain, which will create a mixed-use community once the workforce housing component is complete. Integra is utilizing the State of Florida’s Live Local Act to help fund the development. Integra acquired Lantana Village Square from Saglo Development for $14.9 million. Bradesco Bank provided acquisition financing.