LOS ANGELES — The City of Los Angeles and Enterprise Community Partners have launched New Generation Fund, a $100 million fund for affordable housing.
Through a partnership with a consortium of banks, financial institutions, foundations and community development financial institutions, the fund is designed to combat homelessness and offer affordable housing to low- and moderate-income residents.
The City of Los Angeles has a goal to preserve and build approximately 4,000 units of affordable housing per year until 2014. With average development costs almost doubling in the past 3 years — from $190,000 per unit in 2003 to $361,000 in 2000 — the New Generation Fund offers early stage capital with flexible underwriting and expedited processing. Developers will be able to borrow up to $10 million per project, at 130 percent loan-to-value for non-profit organizations and 95 percent loan-to-value for for-profit developers.
“Having invested resources and built local development capacity in Los Angeles for more than 10 years, Enterprise understands the unique housing needs of the Southland — homes that are affordable, environmentally sustainable and accessible to places of employment,” says Doris Koo, president and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners. “We are excited to partner with the City of Los Angeles and other funders to tackle the local shortage of affordable housing. The opportunities made available through this fund significantly expand the housing resources available in Los Angeles and we look forward to the healthy utilization and growth of this program.”
Citi, Wachovia, Enterprise Community Loan Fund, Merrill Lynch, MetLife and HSBC have contributed to the fund, which is expected to grow to $150 million by next summer.