Here - Korean Women`s Association

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JULY/AUGUST 2010
VOL. 18, NO. 5
WWW.HOUSINGFINANCE.COM
IN THIS ISSUE:
HFA EXECUTIVE
ROUNDTABLE
TAX-EXEMPT
BOND BLUES
THE
NATION’S
BEST
AHF SELECTS SIXTH ANNUAL
L
READERS’ CHOICE FINALISTS
Thh ffour are among th
TThese
the 33 finalists,
li t
but it’s up to you to pick the winners.
A proud milestone.
A lasting legacy.
Enterprise Homes celebrates 25 years of building dreams.
Enterprise founders Jim and Patty Rouse showed us how. And
today, thousands of families across the Mid-Atlantic are living
their dreams in an affordable home.
Enterprise Homes at 25:
5,000 Homes and Counting
www.enterprisecommunity.com
CONTENTS
July/August 2010
DEPARTMENTS
Grapevine
The Buzz
4
6
A new Department of Housing and Urban
Development report shows the number of
homeless families in emergency shelters and
transitional housing programs rose for the
second straight year.
People
Pop Quiz
6
8
Tom Gleason, executive director of
MassHousing, takes
this month’s Pop Quiz.
Housing Policy
10
The House has passed
a Federal Housing
Administration reform bill that includes a
boost in multifamily mortgage limits.
Finance
18
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE features 33
finalists in the competition for our sixth
annual Readers’ Choice Awards for the Nation’s
Best Affordable Housing Developments. Read
about the finalists here and then go to www.
housingfinance.com through Aug. 13 to select the
winners in each of the nine categories as well as
the best overall development.
Family
Green
Historic Rehab
Master-Planned/Mixed-Use
Preservation
Rural
Seniors
Special-Needs
Urban
18
22
24
28
32
34
36
38
42
12
Five housing finance agency executives share
their views on the low-income housing tax
credit equity market, and they give us an inside look at what’s happening at HFAs around
the country.
Finance
14
The tax-exempt bond
market continues to
struggle with limited
investor appetite and
a tight private-placement market, while the
impact of the government’s New Issue Bond
Program remains to be
seen.
Marketplace
48
COMING NEXT MONTH
Special Focus
Five Years After Katrina
A F F O R D A B L E H O U S I N G F I N A N C E • J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 0
1
NEW DIRECTIONS
NCSHA Speakers
Cite Market Changes
CHICAGO The low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC)
market is better than it was a year ago thanks to additional equity, according to many at the National
Council of State Housing Agencies conference.
The entrance of new equity has lifted the general
mood of the industry, but LIHTC investors and others
continue to take a cautious stand.
“The economy is still in question,” said Patrick
Nash, managing director of JPMorgan Capital Corp.,
adding that high unemployment rates and long-term
debt sources remain a concern.
As a result, underwriting continues to be one of
the industry’s biggest topics.
It’s important for housing finance agencies and
others to factor in stability and structure deals for the
long term, said Beth Stohr, president of U.S. Bancorp
Community Development Corp.
“The era of underwriting LIHTC projects at 1.15x
debt coverage should be declared dead,” added Fred
Copeman, a principal at the Reznick Group. “Since
the economy is stifling NOI [net operating income]
growth in many markets and given that one in every
three LIHTC units was already generating negative
cash flow, we are overdue to take off the rose-colored glasses.” Head of the firm’s Tax Credit Investor
Services practice, Copeman noted a spike in equity
demand and the entry of a number of new investors,
including four companies with authority to invest as
much as $3 billion.
Other highlights from the June event include:
› The Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) is rewriting its underwriting
guidelines this summer, with plans to add a chapter
on LIHTC transactions for the first time, according to
Chris Tawa, senior adviser to the deputy assistant secretary of multifamily housing at HUD, who expects the
new guidelines to be released by the end of the year.
› About $2.1 billion in Tax Credit Assistance
Program (TCAP) commitments has helped to fund
794 projects with 54,090 units, reported a HUD representative. HUD plans to reallocate some unused
TCAP funds, so industry participants should watch
for announcements.
› The credit exchange program awards total was
$5.47 billion as of June 18. About $1.05 billion, or 19
percent, of the total had been disbursed, according to
a Treasury Department representative. ■
2
Christine Serlin ■ Executive Editor ■ [email protected]
Donna Kimura ■ Deputy Editor ■ [email protected]
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Contributors: Bendix Anderson, Barry Jacobs
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Affordable Housing Finance Editorial Advisory Board
Board Chairman David Reznick, Reznick Group; Dana Bourland, Enterprise Community Partners;
James Buckley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Urban Studies and Planning;
Laura Burns, The Eagle Point Cos.; Patrick E. Clancy, The Community Builders, Inc.;
Conrad Egan, National Housing Conference; Jack Gardner, The John Stewart Co.;
Robert Greer, Michaels Development Co.; R. Lee Harris, Cohen-Esrey Real Estate Services, LLC;
Bart Harvey, Enterprise; J. David Heller, The NRP Group; Stanley Herskovitz, Paradigm Financial Consulting;
Michelle Hoereth, IFF; Robert Hoskins, The NuRock Cos.; Bill Kelly, Stewards of Affordable Housing
for the Future; Cynthia Lacasse, John Hancock Realty Advisors, Inc.; John G. Markowski, Community
Investment Corp.; Robert Moss, Boston Capital Corp.; Lillian Murphy, Mercy Housing;
Patrick Nash, JPMorgan Capital Corp.; Stephen Norman, King County Housing Authority;
Jeanne L. Peterson, Reznick Group; Paul Purcell, Beacon Development Group; Benson Roberts,
Local Initiatives Support Corp.; Todd Sears, Herman & Kittle Properties, Inc.; Patrick N. Sheridan,
Volunteers of America; Beth Stohr, U.S. Bancorp CDC; Monica Sussman, Nixon Peabody, LLP;
Chris Tawa, Department of Housing and Urban Development; Ronne Thielen, Centerline Capital Group;
Sean Thomas, Ohio Housing Finance Agency; Deborah VanAmerongen, Nixon Peabody, LLP;
Sunia Zaterman, Council of Large Public Housing Authorities; John Zeiler, Hudson Housing Capital
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Volume 18, Issue 5: AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE (ISSN 1080-2177; USPS 015-003) is published 8 times a year (January/
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GRAPEVINE
Finalists Exude Tenacity
BY CHRISTINE SERLIN
I
spent the month of May judging the more than 140 entries for
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE’s
Readers’ Choice Awards, even
reading the nominations late at
night and on the weekends not able to
put them down.
They were all inspiring to me, and
within the words and photos, I was able
to understand how much hard work
and perseverance went into creating
these affordable housing developments
during the nation’s greatest economic
downturn since the Great Depression.
Whittling the entries
down to 33 finalists was a
hard task for the magazine’s
editors because the developments were all so deserving
and had such great stories
to tell about the obstacles,
the need for safe affordable
housing, the revitalization
of neighborhoods, the teamwork, and the residents.
But I think we did a
good job on our final picks
of the finalists.
We have three Gulf
Coast projects this year.
The images on CNN postKatrina are still vivid in
my mind, so it’s great to see
these fresh developments coming online.
Emerald Pines in Gulfport, Miss.,
was in severe disrepair the months after Katrina, yet residents stayed without utilities because they weren’t sure
where else to go. Now, the rebuilt Sec.
8 development is focusing on a sense of
community.
If you nominated
a project that is
scheduled to be
completed in 2010
and didn’t make the
finalist cut, please
renominate next
year. We do want to
hear from you again.
4
The Terraces on Tulane in New
Orleans replaces Forest Towers East,
which closed after suffering heavy damage. Many of the former Forest Towers
residents have reunited after recently
moving into the new seniors community. And the mixed-income Crescent
Club in New Orleans was cobbled together with layers of financing.
Two of the preservation finalists—
Ashland Village in Alameda County,
Calif., and MonteVerde Apartments in
Baltimore—faced and overcame some
big obstacles. Ashland Village’s original lender went out of business, and a
problem with the tax credit 10-year rule
that postponed the acquisition had to
be solved by an act of Congress. And
Freddie Mac and Merrill Lynch were involved in the financing of MonteVerde,
which was set to close Sept. 12, 2008,
in the midst of the financial meltdown.
Even though Freddie was placed under
conservatorship and Merrill Lynch was
purchased by Bank of America, the closing happened less than a week later.
You can read more about these developments and the other finalists starting on page 18. I hope you are inspired
by their stories as much as I was.
The editors may have had the
tough job of choosing the finalists, but
it’s up to you—the readers—to vote on
your favorite in each category as well
as the best overall project of the bunch.
Go to www.housingfinance.com by
Aug. 13 to vote.
The winning developments will be
featured in the November/December
issue and will be celebrated at a luncheon concluding AHF Live: The
2010 Affordable Housing Developers’
Summit on Nov. 5 at the Fairmont
Millennium Park in Chicago. ■
THE BUZZ
Family Homelessness
Continues to Grow
FOR THE SECOND straight year, the
number of homeless families in emergency shelters and transitional housing programs rose while the number of
sheltered homeless individuals fell, according to the 2009 Annual Homeless
Assessment Report (AHAR).
When families are considered as
households rather than as separate individuals in a household, slightly more
than 170,000 families were sheltered
homeless last year, about a 30 percent
jump since 2007.
On the positive side, the number of
homeless individuals fell 5 percent. The
estimated number of chronic homeless
was down more than 10 percent.
“Despite the worst recession this
country has seen since the Depression,
this report shows that, nationally, we
were able to avoid massive increases in
homelessness—at least through last fall.
There’s little question that the hard work
of communities implementing housingbased strategies played a key role,” says
Nan Roman, president of the National
Alliance to End Homelessness. “But
the rise in family shelter use is a clear
indication that the recession is having
an effect on vulnerable households. We
are deeply concerned that it foreshadows increases in homelessness in the
future.”
For the first time, the number of
beds in permanent supportive housing
surpassed the number of beds in emergency shelter or transitional housing.
Permanent supportive housing
increased by about 60,000 beds between 2006 and 2009. More than half
the growth was in the past year, from
196,000 beds in 2008 to more than
219,000 in 2009.
The Department of Housing and
Urban Development report finds that
an estimated 643,067 people were
homeless on a given night in 2009.
Roughly 1.56 million, or one in every
200 Americans, spent at least one night
in a shelter during the year. ■
P E O P L E
Mercy Names Northwest President
Bill Rumpf has been named president of the Mercy Housing Northwest
region. He joins the nonprofit developer after serving as deputy director of
Seattle’s Department of Housing since
1999. In this role, he directed the work
of four program managers in the areas
of rental production and preservation,
asset management, home repair and
weatherization, and internal corporate
operations. Rumpf also established initiatives to house homeless individuals in
permanent supportive housing.
He previously served as CEO of the
California Housing Partnership Corp.
Citi Adds to Community
Capital Team
Director Matthew Bissonette joins
Citi Community Capital (CCC) as an
originator in New York.
He has an extensive background
in affordable housing, including being
involved in more than 250 multifamily
housing bond financings throughout the
country, totaling more than $2.5 billion.
6
M. Bissonette
P. Bowen
Prior to joining CCC, he was a director at RBC Capital Markets, working as
an investment banker in affordable housing bond finance. Prior to that, he was a
partner with Eichner & Norris, PLLC, a
Washington, D.C.-based law firm.
CCC is planning to expand its workforce by one-third, bringing the employee
count to nearly 200 in the next quarter.
Riverstone Names
Compliance Executive
Pat Bowen has been named executive vice president of compliance services
at Riverstone Residential Group.
A 25-year industry veteran, she
will oversee the low-income housing
tax credit compliance, bond, and other
affordable housing programs. She will
also manage Riverstone’s internal audit programs in the company’s Quality
Assurance Group.
Bowen was in property management with AIMCO for the past 14 years,
most recently serving as vice president of
compliance.
Recap Announces
Leadership Moves
Recap Real Estate Advisors
has announced that President Todd
Trehubenko will become CEO, and
current CEO David Smith will become
chairman, effective July 31.
Trehubenko will set the strategic
direction for the expanding firm. He has
been a central part of the management
team since joining the company in 1992
and has been president since 2007.
Smith founded Recap in 1989. As
chairman, he will continue to support
the firm’s business development efforts
with an emphasis on national financial
and policy initiatives. ■
THE BUZZ
P O P
Q U I Z
TOM GLEASON has spent his career
working in affordable housing lending and
community development finance.
For the past nine years, he has been
executive director of MassHousing, an independent, quasi-public agency that provides
financing for affordable housing across
Massachusetts. The agency raises capital
by selling bonds and lends the proceeds to
developers and low- and moderate-income
home buyers.
In a new role, Gleason was recently
selected to serve on Fannie Mae’s inaugural
Affordable Housing Advisory Council.
Q
A
How did you get started in the affordable housing business?
When I was attending graduate school
for public administration at the University
of Massachusetts in the 1970s, I had a job in
the community development department in
Westfield, a solid, working-class city in western
Massachusetts that, like many places, was trying
to evolve from its industrial past. They had
received a grant to inventory the housing stock,
and I walked the streets of Westfield with a clipboard, looking at homes and recording information about their condition. That’s when I really
started to see the importance of good housing in
our communities. It led to a lifelong involvement
in community development and housing.
Q
What has MassHousing recently
done that other housing agencies
can learn from?
We launched a Web site exclusively for
our rental housing business partners
(www.masshousingrental.com), and we’re
gradually moving toward doing more rental
business online. This was part of an overall
strategic realignment of our rental housing business lines. We did it to be more
user-friendly to our customers—developers,
owners, and managers of multifamily housing.
We brought the local rental housing trade
A
8
group in and let them help guide our efforts
and react to our proposals.
Q
A
What trends in affordable housing
finance are you watching?
Like everyone, we are watching the tax
credit markets closely, and things do
seem to be improving, although slowly. It’s
great that a high-profile company like Google
has entered the tax credit market. We’re also
closely watching the Department of Housing
and Urban Development’s new Transforming
Rental Assistance initiative, as well as the various
federal efforts to keep the housing market going,
such as the Tax Credit Exchange Program.
standards that are leaving legitimate borrowers
out in the cold. My hope for the council is to
carve out a role for affordable homeownership
and rental lending based on concepts that are
realistic and sustainable.
Q
A
Besides the usual work papers, what’s
in your office?
More papers. Blackberry. Laptop. A large
photo of one of my favorite MassHousing
developments to remind me of what we do.
Pictures of my wife, Brita, and our nearly
21-year-old twin sons, Alex and Steve, to remind
me of why I do this. Did I mention the papers?
Q
A
Who would you like to meet?
Q
You’ve been named to Fannie Mae’s
Affordable Housing Advisory Council.
What are your goals for the council?
For many years, Fannie Mae has been a terrific partner with housing finance agencies,
providing a lending platform that has not been
available anywhere else. Having said that, there
is no question that the shape of the secondary
mortgage market is changing before our eyes.
Almost everyone in this business changed their
underwriting standards to chase business and
market share in our recent past. Those changes
went too far. Now, almost everyone is going
too far in the other direction, with underwriting
A
Steve Jobs. His ability to create the “next
big thing” year after year is pretty uncanny.
I’d love to know what Apple’s creative and
development processes are. In every line of
work—and that includes the public sector—I
think you’ve got to be creative and entrepreneurial because the needs of your customers
are always changing. I’d like to get a little of that
pixie dust from Apple and sprinkle it around the
affordable housing business. ■
•••
For an expanded interview with Tom
Gleason, visit www.housingfinance.com.
hudson_af_v3.qxd
1/15/10
11:22 AM
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Great team.
Great results.
In challenging economic times, a great team makes all the difference.
At Hudson Housing Capital, we adhere to the principles of integrity, quality,
transparency and stability. We continue to place a high volume of equity
capital into high quality, low income housing tax credit developments around
the country. At Hudson Housing Capital, we remain steadfast in helping keep the
promise to low income housing beneficiaries. For more information, please call
or e-mail us today.
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1.14.10 • affordable housing • page 1
HOUSING POLICY
WASHIN GTO N
U PDAT E
House Passes FHA Reform Bill
BY BARRY G. JACOBS
T
he House has passed a Federal Housing Administration
(FHA) reform bill (H.R. 4072)
that includes an increase in
multifamily mortgage limits
for elevator structures and in areas with
the highest construction costs.
Current law sets specific per-unit
dollar limits for non-elevator and elevator buildings, with the elevator limits a
few thousand dollars higher. For the Sec.
221(d)(4) program, for example, the twobedroom limit for a non-elevator
building is $61,567, while the elevator limit is $67,566.
The House-passed bill,
by contrast, would allow the
Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD)
to set limits for elevator buildings that are up to 50 percent
higher than the non-elevator
limits, meaning the Sec. 221(d)
(4) two-bedroom limit could be as high
as $92,350.
HUD plans demonstration
program for small-area FMRs
HUD is planning a demonstration
program for fiscal 2011 that will establish
fair market rents (FMRs) at the ZIP code
level for the Sec. 8 housing choice voucher program in some metropolitan areas.
The department says the small-area
FMRs are expected to make it easier for
voucher holders to find housing in areas
with jobs, transportation, and educational opportunities while avoiding subsidies that are higher than necessary in
areas with relatively low rents.
Public housing authorities (PHAs)
that want to take part in the demonstration program must administer at least
10
80 percent of the vouchers in their metropolitan area, and two or more PHAs in
an area can submit a joint application to
reach that threshold.
Because HUD expects the demonstration program to be most useful
in larger FMR areas, it may restrict the
small-area program to FMR areas that
meet the size and affordable housing
concentration requirements for the use
of 50th percentile rents to set FMRs.
If HUD has to limit participation
in the program because of the number
of PHAs expressing interest, it will give
improving the quality of life; building
inclusive and sustainable communities
free from discrimination; and transforming the way HUD does business.
To provide affordable rental housing, HUD says it will support the production of millions of new units, maintaining quality, accessibility, and energy
efficiency as well as affordability.
“This strategic plan isn’t just a paper
exercise to produce a set of marching orders, but a real attempt to express what
we want our agency, our homes, and our
neighborhoods to look like in the years
“This strategic plan isn’t just a paper exercise
to produce a set of marching orders, but a
real attempt to express what we want our
agency, our homes, and our neighborhoods
to look like in the years to come.”
—Shaun Donovan, HUD secretary
priority to areas that are large enough
for the small-area FMRs to provide a
significant variation in rents, areas with
the highest percentage of voucher tenants served by PHAs, and areas where
PHAs have shown they will set payment
standards at different levels when appropriate. The program will start Oct. 1, with
additional areas to be added Jan. 1, 2011.
HUD sets goals for 2010-2015
A new HUD strategic plan lays out
five goals in promoting affordable housing and sustainable communities during
the fiscal 2010-2015 period.
The goals are strengthening the
housing market to bolster the economy
and protect consumers; meeting the
need for quality affordable rental housing; utilizing housing as a platform for
to come,” said HUD Secretary Shaun
Donovan in a statement. “The plan sets
out clear goals and defines success as
we take HUD to its 50th anniversary in
2015.” ■
Barry G. Jacobs is editor of Housing and
Development Reporter, the nation’s premier source for in-depth, factual coverage
of all aspects of affordable housing and
community development. The two-part
publication includes informed reports
and insightful analyses in “HDR Current
Developments,” and an up-to-date compilation of essential documents in the
“HDR Reference Files.” Jacobs is also the
author of the annually updated HDR
Handbook of Housing and Development
Law. For more information, call (800)
723-8077.
FINANCE
TAX
C RE DI T
E Q U I T Y
HFA Execs Assess Equity Scene
BY DONNA KIMURA
E
xecutive directors from five
state housing finance agencies
(HFAs) share their insight on
the equity market.
Stephen Auger of Florida
Housing, Tim Kenny of the Nebraska
Investment Finance Authority, Doug
Garver of the Ohio Housing Finance
Agency, Susan Dewey of the Virginia
Housing Development Authority, and
Kim Herman of the Washington State
Housing Finance Commission take part
in the roundtable.
Give us your assessment of the Tax
Credit Assistance Program (TCAP)
and the exchange program so far.
Auger: The TCAP and exchange programs have helped to stimulate Florida’s
economy by helping to generate viable
financing to otherwise competitively
strong developments that completely
lost investor interest or did not provide
adequate investor equity. Our primary
concern about the programs is the removal of the HFAs’ ability to generate
income to cover the administrative responsibilities that would otherwise be
permitted.
Kenny: We like the simplicity and
clarity of the exchange program. It was
easy to deploy. The TCAP model is a
regulatory Gordian knot, so it has less
programmatic utility.
Garver: Both the exchange and
TCAP have been great resources to help
get critical affordable housing projects
in Ohio moving. The overall flexibility
of both programs was important. Our
question about recapturing funds from
either program remains a concern.
Dewey: Regarding TCAP, HFAs are
very willing to follow guidance; however,
job-count guidance has not been clear,
12
and there is concern that reporting is not
comparable across HFAs.
The exchange program has been
the easier of the two funding types to
implement, both from HFA and developer perspectives, since it requires fewer
deadlines and regulations. However, our
overall concern is that the deadlines for
expending funds may cause problems,
as the housing industry had basically
come to a halt in some states. Although
the funds are welcome and will be put
to good use, restarting the development
process for affordable multifamily deals
is not an easy or quick process.
Herman: Both the TCAP and 1602
exchange programs delivered big time for
affordable housing in Washington state.
S. Auger
T. Kenny
Auger: We’ve seen improvements in
the LIHTC investor market in terms of
equity pricing and overall interest. Much
of this improvement seems driven by
Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) investment. However, there are still many
areas of the state that still lack economically viable investor interest.
Kenny: The market is about as we expected: strong in urban areas and weak
in rural areas. There is not much appetite
for “special needs” projects. Our disaster
area credits, without the exchange eligibility, are harder to allocate effectively.
Garver: The market seems to be improving but is not as strong as it needs
to be to attract investors. The changes to
the program the industry is proposing
D. Garver
S. Dewey
K. Herman
TO READ MORE Go to www.housingfinance.com for the expanded roundtable.
Each HFA had to reconcile the challenge at hand with the opportunity presented by these American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) resources.
For Washington, this meant understanding ARRA with respect to the timing of
our allocation round, the status of other
committed funding, policies and processes, politics, etc. Washington state fortunately has evolved a very collaborative,
communicative, and transparent development and funding culture, and thus
we can point to a number of ARRA successes in the face of extreme adversity.
Is the low-income housing tax credit
(LIHTC) market better or worse than
expected this year? Why?
would help to make the market a stronger option for potential investors.
Dewey: In Virginia, the market has
remained constant and is perhaps a bit
better in 2010 than 2009. Our state is
fortunate in that we continue to be attractive to banks for CRA purposes, business activities may not have dipped quite
as low economically as in other states,
and we also have very active investors
that are well-funded and remain committed to the tax credit program.
Herman: Better, although only time
will tell. Our 2010 round deals have
thus far attracted solid investor interest. That said, concerns remain about
investment appetite and opportunity in
some rural deals. ■
The greatest rewards come
from helping others.
In the affordable housing
industry, Reznick Group
feels right at home.
As a top 20 national CPA firm, we’ve been helping developers,
lenders and investors in affordable housing achieve financial
success for more than 30 years.
By sharing our insights on low-income housing tax credits,
FHA and HUD programs, and other financing opportunities,
we help the affordable housing industry provide safe and
decent housing for the communities that need it most.
What could be more rewarding?
To learn more about Reznick Group and our services for the
affordable housing industry, visit:
www.reznickgroup.com/affordablehousing
FINANCE
TAX-EXE MPT
B O N DS
TEB Blues
Deals face diverse
challenges despite
federal efforts
BY JERRY ASCIERTO
T
he NRP Group has employed tax-exempt bonds
on many new developments
throughout its 15-year history.
But like a lot of developers, it has
rethought that approach over the last
few turbulent years.
While the company has five taxexempt bond deals under construction—all of which needed property tax
breaks to pencil out—the developer is
not bullish regarding the swift return
of the market.
“Bond deals worked when tax
credit pricing was in the 90s, private
placements were not loaded up with
enhancement fees, and rates were under 6 percent,” says Dan Markson, a
senior vice president at the Clevelandbased developer. “But the median incomes are not rising enough to make
up for all of that.”
Indeed, the tax-exempt bond marketplace is in a strange place right now
and continues to be overshadowed by
the more powerful 9 percent tax credit.
Since 9 percent deals have deeper rent
skewing than 4 percent deals, they almost always get federal and state priority. For instance, while the tax credit
exchange program has helped numerous 9 percent deals to break ground,
the 4 percent world was left in the cold,
unable to access the program.
What’s more, the private-placement market remains severely limited. RBC has some appetite, as does
14
Walker & Dunlop recently converted a $16 million construction to permanent loan
for Canterbury House Apartments, a post-Katrina New Orleans development that
came online last year, using Fannie Mae’s bond forward commitment product.
Citi Community Capital and Bank of
America, but it’s a tepid market these
days at best.
Fannie Mae remains out of the
variable-rate market, but suddenly
that doesn’t seem like such a big deal.
Freddie Mac’s variable rate with a swap
program was a popular execution over
the last couple of years due to the low
rates offered, but that execution is now
being priced about the same as fixedrate deals, at around 5.65 percent, according to Phil Melton, who runs the
affordable housing debt platform for
Grandbridge Real Estate Capital.
“Fixed-rate bonds are slow to
come back, but the rates seem to be
holding,” says Sarah Garland, director
of affordable housing for Washington,
D.C.-based Fannie Mae. “A fixed-rate
bond is actually inside of a Freddie
swap, for instance. So we expect that
as that market comes back, people will
go to the fixed-rate bond market as op-
posed to the swap.”
New construction bond deals are
having a very hard time finding a letter
of credit provider, and most borrowers don’t want to wait for the Federal
Housing Administration (FHA) to get
their deal done. A bigger problem is
that there’s very little interest rate difference between doing a tax-exempt
and taxable deal these days.
All-in rates on tax-exempt credit
enhancements through the FHA’s
221(d)(4) program are around 5.5 percent, while taxable deals were pricing at
5.4 percent as of early June. The same
dynamic applies at the governmentsponsored enterprises (GSEs), though
their rates are slightly above the FHA.
But lenders are seeing more activity on the preservation side as the second quarter came to a close. “We are
starting to see some more bond deals
for acq-rehab, in-place rehabs potentially not needing the letter of credit
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$20 million
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End-to-End Permanent loan
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Bridge loan
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Direct construction loan
The new construction of this seven-story,
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FINANCE
but going straight to an enhancement
with some reserve fundings,” says
Melton. “That works best if you’ve got
a HAP contract or something else associated with it where you’re maintaining
the revenue stream.”
Fannie Mae has noticed that uptick as well and says it will target rehab
deals in the second half of the year.
“We want to be a little more aggressive in pursuing fixed-rate bond
transactions, especially those that are
mod-rehab and in-place deals, which
is really our sweet spot in terms of
execution,” says Bob Simpson, vice
president of multifamily affordable
lending within Fannie Mae’s Housing
and Community Development (HCD)
division.
New Issue Bond Program
The federal government has
stepped in to help the tax-exempt bond
market, but the success of its New
Issue Bond Program—a collaboration
between the Treasury Department, the
Department of Housing and Urban
Development, and the GSEs—remains
to be seen.
The program gave both state and
local housing finance agencies (HFAs)
the ability to provide low-rate debt on
bond deals.
“The program used the 10-year
Treasury as a rate for the program
bonds,” says Carl Riedy, vice president
of the public finance channel within
Fannie Mae’s HCD division. “The states
could lock in a 10-year Treasury rate
from the middle of November through
the end of December last year.”
In general, the rates emanating
from the program in the early stages
are in the 3.75 to 4.5 percent range
once factoring in the spread and fees
charged by each individual HFA.
To date, about $2.9 billion has
been issued on the multifamily side,
divided among 31 state and local housing finance agencies. Nearly half of that
amount went to state and local agencies in New York and California. In
terms of actual credit enhancements,
there’s only been about $40 million
done through the program, divided between Fannie, Freddie, and the FHA.
The program kicked into gear
in the fourth quarter of last year, but
it came together quickly, maybe a little too quickly. HFAs had about two
months to determine how much volume they’d need. And it’s a “use it or
lose it” scenario—HFAs have until the
end of this year to use that volume, or
it will be eliminated.
Trade organizations like the
National Council of State Housing
Agencies are lobbying the Treasury
Department to extend the deadline by
six months and increase the amount of
volume.
While the low rates are certainly
welcomed by the affordable housing
community, many feel that the program only got it half right. Though it
addressed debt, it did nothing to make
the 4 percent tax credits attractive. ■
Expertise you remember.
Experience you need.
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SPECIAL FOCUS ❯❯ READERS’ CHOICE FINALISTS
The Nation’s Best
AHF selects sixth annual Readers’ Choice finalists
H
ere they are—the finalists for
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE’s
sixth annual Readers’ Choice
Awards.
AFFORDABLEHOUSINGFINANCE
received more than 140 nominations this
year, and with the help of the magazine’s
editors, we carefully selected 33 finalists in
nine categories.
This year’s diverse group of finalists,
representing 17 states plus the District of
Columbia, really shine and stand out as
models for other developers across the nation. Most of the finalists had to be creative,
overcoming obstacles related to the nation’s economic crisis and the low-income
housing tax credit market upheaval.
Three developments are part of the
rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast after
the devastation of Hurricane Katrina—
Emerald Pines in Gulfport, Miss.; The
Terraces on Tulane in New Orleans; and the
Crescent Club in New Orleans. Tomaganuk
in Hooper Bay, Alaska, has created muchneeded affordable housing for this small
rural village after a fire destroyed more than
30 structures in 2006. And Sandywoods
Farm in Tiverton, R.I., combines affordable and market-rate housing with a working farm and artists’ space.
The developments were chosen on our
assessment of several key characteristics,
including:
■ Impact on the community by adding substantially to the affordable housing
stock or improving the immediate social or
economic fabric; and
■ Employs cost-effective or innovative
design and/or construction, including energy efficiency and sustainable development.
Developments had to be completed
in 2009 or scheduled for completion in
2010.
Now, it’s up to you to choose the most
deserving in each category and which development should be the overall winner.
Go to www.housingfinance.com through
Aug. 13 to vote. You must be an AHF subscriber to vote.
The winners will be highlighted in the
November/December issue and will be
honored at a luncheon at the conclusion of
AHF Live: The 2010 Affordable Housing
Developers’ Summit on Nov. 5 at the
Fairmont Millennium Park in Chicago. ■
The developer completed exteGULFPORT, MISS.
rior
and interior modernization of
dgewood Manor, a 120-unit,
the units and buildings, and added
15-building Sec. 8 develophurricane resistant windows, adment, became a symbol of
ditional structural bracing, and
people being left behind during the
private entries to all units.
months after Hurricane Katrina hit
A new 1,700-square-foot comthe Gulf Coast. Without roofs, winmunity center with laundry, a comdows, and utilities, many residents
puter center, a fitness center, and
refused to leave because they
a community room also was added
couldn’t find other housing.
as were walkways, a picnic pavilOvercoming many obstacles, FAMILY FINALIST
ion, and a playground and splash
Gorman & Co. stepped in to reEMERALD PINES
area.
build the property, transforming it
Developer and Architect: Gorman & Co.
“We had to amenitize and build
into a revitalized community called
Major Funders: Mississippi Home Corp.; Centerline Capital Group;
a
setting
that would allow a comEmerald Pines.
JPMorgan Chase; Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago; Department
of Housing and Urban Development; Insurance Proceeds
munity to be born,” Capp says,
Prior to the start of construcadding that some of the former
tion in September 2008, it was
determined that many of the walls were not as The other financing for the $14.3 million de- residents have returned.
Emerald Pines is comprised of 10 one-bedstructurally sound as had been anticipated after velopment included tax-exempt bonds and
Hurricane Gustav barreled through Gulfport, 4 percent tax credits, insurance proceeds, room, 30 two-bedroom, 50 three-bedroom,
adding construction costs. And in October and Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago and 30 four-bedroom units and will operate
under a 20-year housing assistance payment
2008, the project lost some of its financing, re- Affordable Housing Program funding.
“We were confident that everyone would contract with the units restricted to housesulting in a $2 million shortfall.
But in the end, Gorman & Co. received step up to the table because this development holds earning 60 percent or less of the area
Tax Credit Assistance Program funds from was so inspirational and so important to get median income. ■
—Christine Serlin
the Mississippi Housing Corp. to fill the gap. done,” says Tom Capp, COO of Gorman & Co.
E
18
FAMILY FINALIST
PETALUMA AVENUE HOMES
Developer: Affordable Housing Associates
Architect: McCamant & Durrett Architects
Major Funders: Hudson Housing Capital; Silicon Valley Bank; City of Sebastopol;
Sonoma County; Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco; Enterprise Green
Communities; California Tax Credit Allocation Committee
SEBASTOPOL, CALIF.
etaluma Avenue Homes has two big
missions: provide an affordable place
for people to live and foster a sense of
community.
The first goal is achieved through 45
apartments aimed at low-income residents of
Sonoma County in Northern California. The
second is accomplished by embracing the ideals of co-housing.
“Petaluma Avenue Homes is one of the
few examples in the United States of affordable rental co-housing, an innovative approach
which combines the autonomy of private homes
with the advantages and support of community
living,” says developer Susan Friedland, executive director of Affordable Housing Associates
(AHA). “It is so exciting to visit the property
Photo: Treve Johnson
P
and see residents participating
in a thriving community garden,
regular baby-sitting swaps, and
twice monthly community meals
in the common house.”
The $16.5 million development is designed for
social interaction. All the parking is pulled out to
the perimeter, leaving the interior of the property
for children to play and residents to garden. The
project also features large porches to encourage
socializing and a community house for events.
The development is loaded with green features, including solar panels to help power the
common areas.
The one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments
serve residents earning between 30 percent and
60 percent of the area median income, with the
average below 50 percent, says Friedland.
FAMILY FINALIST
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
he NuRock Cos. has transformed a 30-acre
junkyard into the Residences at Eastland, a
family development that is helping to turn
around a neighborhood.
Bringing the project to fruition took a lot of
perseverance on the part of the developer. It was
on the cusp of receiving low-income housing tax
credits for two consecutive years and then was
successful on the third attempt.
“We worked hard for three years to get the local support lined up and to [demonstrate] that we
were bringing in a quality project,” says Bradford
T
RESIDENCES AT EASTLAND
Developer: The NuRock Cos.
Architect: Morton M. Gruber, AIA, Architect
Major Funders: Boston Capital; Wells
Fargo; Freddie Mac; City of Forth Worth;
Texas Department of Housing and
Community Affairs
Bell, development manager at NuRock.
NuRock Managing Principal Rob Hoskins says
the development, which is in a Neighborhood
Empowerment Zone, is meeting the city’s goals
of creating affordable housing, increasing economic development, and increasing public safety.
AHA used $10.9 million in low-income housing
tax credit equity from Hudson Housing Capital.
Silicon Valley Bank provided an $11 million construction loan and a $1.6 million permanent loan. The Federal Home Loan Bank
of San Francisco also provided a $270,000
Affordable Housing Program grant through
Silicon Valley Bank. The Sebastopol Community
Development Agency provided $2.8 million, and
the Sonoma County Community Development
Commission provided $495,000 in Community
Development Block Grant and HOME funds. ■
—Donna Kimura
The developer also just closed on a neighboring
92-unit project-based Sec. 8 property and intends
to do a gut rehab.
“We believe this with the Residences at
Eastland will fully secure the neighborhood,”
Hoskins says, adding that the surrounding area is
starting to see single-family housing revitalization
and discussion regarding new retail development.
The Residences at Eastland has a special emphasis on helping children “break out” of cycles of
negative influences as well as academics through
NuRock’s BreakOut program, which is a supervised after-school and summer camp program.
Children receive a snack, get homework help,
participate in activities, and can play and learn in
the kids’ computer lab.
“We believe that by providing support services for our residents’ children makes it a better
community,” Hoskins says.
The $16.7 million development features 146
two-, three-, and four-bedroom townhomes and
flats, with 10 percent of the units targeted for
families earning 30 percent of the area median income (AMI), 86 percent of the units at 60 percent
of AMI, and the remainder at market rate. ■
—Christine Serlin
19
Alberghini says.
The $36.5 million projTHE ST. AIDAN
ect is structured as three
Developer: The Planning Office for Urban Affairs, Inc.
secondary
condominiArchitect: The Architectural Team
ums—for the church buildMajor Funders: Bank of America; Wainwright Bank;
ing, the two buildings on
Town of Brookline; Massachusetts Department of
Crowninshield Road, and
Housing and Community Development; MassHousing;
the Pleasant Street buildFederal Home Loan Bank of Boston; Housing
ing—under one master
Partnership Network
condominium that governs
the common areas.
high-end luxury condos.
The Pleasant Street building is comprised
For POUA, it was important to
provide a mix of housing for differ- of 20 low-income housing tax credit rental units
ent incomes. “If we don’t create and 16 condos for first-time home buyers. The
truly mixed-income communities, Crowninshield Road buildings feature 14 townthen this world becomes about home units, and the historic church has been
people who serve others and cannot afford to converted into nine high-end luxury condos,
live with them,” says President Lisa B. Alberghini. which provided a significant internal cross subsidy
“Brookline was becoming a community of people to help support the affordable units. Ten percent
of the units are set aside for residents at or below
who serve those in town but couldn’t live there.”
It took 10 years from the idea of the project to 30 percent of the area median income (AMI), 10
completion, with the developer battling a NIMBY percent for those at or below 50 percent of AMI,
lawsuit, going through a lengthy permitting pro- 14 percent for those at or below 60 percent of
cess, and working through the cost increases AMI, 27 percent for those at or below 80 percent
because of delays. “It required an extraordinary of AMI, and the remainder at market rate. ■
—Christine Serlin
level of patience, perseverance, and tenacity,”
FAMILY FINALIST
O
THE
DIRECT
INVESTOR
one of the best decisions
you’ll ever make.
OAKWOOD SHORES
Various addresses
Chicago, IL
$13,426,279 Equity Investment
75 Family Units
73% Affordable
27% Market
Linda Hill
Vice President
415-983-5443
Anne Simpson
Director
415-983-5451
[email protected]
[email protected]
Investors contact:
Brian Herman
Managing Director
502-650-2167
[email protected]
39089Oak4C_2 610
Photo: Greig Cranna
BROOKLINE, MASS.
nce the site of the historic St. Aidan
Church, where John F. Kennedy was baptized and which served as the Kennedy
family parish for decades, is now a 59-unit mixedincome development in this affluent community
outside of Boston.
Developed by the Planning Office of Urban
Affairs (POUA), a nonprofit developer affiliated
with the Archdiocese of Boston, The St. Aidan
runs the gamut from affordable rental units to
Unsteady Climate.
With a challenging economy and tight lending
constraints, finding access to capital is harder than
ever – particularly for affordable housing properties.
By partnering with Citi Community Capital, you get
access to more than just capital. You gain a partner
with the resources, talent and nationwide platform
needed to support your goals, start to finish.
At Citi, we aim to be the foundation of your success.
Contact Citi Community Capital today at
[email protected] or call
303.308.7400
© 2010 Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Member SIPC. All rights reserved. Citi and Arc Design are trademarks
and service marks of Citigroup Inc. or its affiliates and are used and registered throughout the world.
Solid Solutions.
GREEN FINALIST
CASA FELIZ STUDIOS
Developers: First Community Housing and The John Stewart Co.
Architect: Rob Quigley Architects, FAIA
Major Funders: U.S. Bank; Enterprise Community Investment;
California Department of Housing and Community Development;
City of San Jose; Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
One of the main
green features is
the living roofs, a
first in San Jose. According to First Community
Housing Executive Director Jeff Oberdorfer, the
city requested an upgrade to the insufficient
storm drain system, but for the same costs, the
developers were able to add the living roofs,
which retain storm water, provide habitat for
wildlife, increase roof insulation, provide a longer roof life, and reduce ambient heat reflected
from the roof to increase the efficiency of the
photovoltaic system that helps to power the
common areas.
Casa Feliz also features natural lighting
and ventilation, toxic-free building materials,
low-flow plumbing fixtures, energy-efficient
appliances, and more than 90 percent con-
struction waste recycling.
Oberdorfer adds that the overall lack of toxic
materials on the interior has had a tremendous
impact on the health of the special-needs residents. First Community Housing also provides
free annual transit passes to the residents and a
green resident manual.
The $16.1 million project included tax-exempt bond financing from U.S. Bank, 4 percent
tax credit equity from Enterprise Community
Investment, and additional financing from the
California Department of Housing and Community
Development Multifamily Housing Program and
the city of San Jose. ■
—Christine Serlin
Photo: Rob Quigley
says much of Klamath
Falls is served by geothermal wells, and Iris Glen
Townhomes won’t be an
exception.
“The opportunity to provide heat and hot water for
these units without charges
was pretty exciting to us,”
she says.
GREEN FINALIST
The development will
utilize three existing geoIRIS GLEN TOWNHOMES
Developer: Luckenbill-Drayton & Associates, LLC
thermal wells located on
Architect: Carleton Hart Architecture
the property. The system
Major Funders: Homestead Capital; Wells Fargo Bank; Oregon
uses heat exchange from
Housing and Community Services; Network for Affordable Housing
the wells to domestic hot
water tanks, which feed water-source radiant heating
KLAMATH FALLS, ORE.
loops
in
the
concrete
floor slabs on the ground
hen residents start moving into the
Iris Glen Townhomes in September, floors and in-wall heaters on the upper floors of
they’re possibly going to see savings the units. The domestic hot water tanks can also
between $75 and $120 per month on their burn natural gas as a backup fuel source in case
of temporary failure or system overload.
utility bills, depending on the unit size.
Other sustainable elements include light-colDee Luckenbill, managing member of developer Luckenbill-Drayton & Associates, LLC, ored roofing, low-flow water fixtures, Energy Star
appliances and lighting, high-performance windows, proper cross-ventilation, drought-tolerant
landscaping, and the use of low or no-VOC paints.
To encourage biking and public transportation,
the developer will provide bicycles on demand for
use by the residents and their children at no cost
as well as transportation subsidies or scholarships
for residents who need financial help getting to
and from jobs or employment training.
The development is comprised of 12 one-bedroom, 20 two-bedroom, and four three-bedroom
units, with 41 percent of the units set aside for
residents earning less than 50 percent of the area
median income (AMI) and 59 percent for residents earning less than 60 percent of AMI.
Multiple funding sources were used for the
$7.1 million development, including housing trust
funds, low-income weatherization funds, and
general housing account funds through Oregon
Housing and Community Services; low-income
housing tax credit equity provided by Homestead
Capital; a permanent loan from the Network for
Affordable Housing; and a construction loan from
Wells Fargo Bank. ■
—Christine Serlin
Photo: Ben Vallejo
SAN JOSE, CALIF.
nce the site of a sorority house near
San Jose State University and then
an aging residential hotel, Casa Feliz
Studios has been reborn as a contemporary
and sustainable development serving extremely low-income residents.
The 59 studios serve residents with income
levels ranging from 20 percent to 35 percent of
the area median income, with 21 units set aside
for residents with developmental disabilities.
The project’s strong green focus was
recognized with a Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design New Construction 2.2
gold rating, the third New Construction gold
designation for nonprofit First Community
Housing, which co-developed the project with
The John Stewart Co.
O
Iris Glen Townhomes was
still under construction
at press time.
W
22
Housing Specialist Esmeralda
LAMONT, CALIF.
Santos
says one resident comn this unincorporated farmmented that he’s saving $50 in
worker community in Kern
utilities a month from his previous
County in the San Joaquin
home.
Valley, Self-Help Enterprises’
Completed in July 2009,
Rancho Lindo development is
Rancho Lindo has a strong focus
helping to meet the dire need for
on services for families, includquality low-income housing while
GREEN FINALIST
ing an after-school program that
demonstrating that green buildRANCHO LINDO
is offered two hours a day for the
ing can be done in the most rural
Developer: Self-Help Enterprises
children and free employment
locations.
Architect: Mogavero & Notestine Associates
and educational services once a
“The demand far exceeds what
Major Funders: Union Bank; U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural
month for the adults.
we can provide,” says Doug Pingel,
Development; Kern County
The $12.9 million development
multifamily housing program direcwas financed with HOME funds
tor for the Visalia, Calif.-based nonRancho Lindo, which exceeded California from Kern County, U.S. Department of Agriculture
profit. “This project helps that need somewhat,
Title 24 energy standards by 37 percent and Rural Development Sec. 514 loan and Sec. 521
but it’s overwhelming.”
Not only did Self-Help Enterprises create a achieved a GreenPoint Rated certification rental assistance, and low-income housing tax
development that provides 43 two-, three-, and through Build It Green, features cool tile roofs credit equity from Union Bank.
“Our goal is to do more than just provide housfour-bedroom units for residents earning between to minimize solar heat gain, low-e windows,
35 percent and 55 percent of the area median in- tankless hot water heaters, Energy Star air-con- ing,” Pingel says, adding that the nonprofit aims
come, but it invested in energy-efficient features ditioning units and appliances, ultra low-flow to help residents stabilize at affordable rents, get
to provide utility savings for the residents and to water fixtures, and native landscaping. A pho- established, save some money, and then move
allow for long-term savings on the owner side to tovoltaic system powers the community center up the housing scale. ■
—Christine Serlin
and communal on-site lighting.
help keep rents affordable.
I
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HISTORIC REHAB FINALIST
CHICAGO
s the financial markets slid into chaos, the
last piece of a complex financing puzzle fell
into place for Britton Budd Apartments.
The 172 crumbling seniors apartments
needed extensive work—from a new heating system to repairs to the plaster.
In September 2008, the project found a buyer
willing to pay $0.95 on the dollar for its 4 percent
low-income housing tax credits. Work started that
month on a $39 million renovation.
Britton Budd found tax credit investors willing
to pay top dollar despite, or perhaps because of,
its unique nature.
First, it’s public housing, which meant
investors were unable to buy the land under
Britton Budd. Instead they took out a ground
lease on the site. Britton Budd is also set in a
historic hotel, with all the restrictions on redevelopment that come with landmark status.
But uniqueness is also Britton Budd’s
strength. Landmark status gave it access to $5.9
million in equity from the sale of federal historic
rehabilitation tax credits.
Also, as public housing, Britton Budd came
with an experienced, well-capitalized developer
that has successfully redeveloped thousands
of seniors apartments: the Chicago Housing
Authority (CHA).
Britton Budd received soft loans to the tune
of $15.7 million in CHA public housing capital improvement funds and $6.3 million in seller financing from the authority.
The CHA also sweetened the deal by delaying the moment when tax credit investors had to
pay until after the renovation was completed in
September 2009.
Finally, Britton Budd was desirable simply
because of its place in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. “I was blown away by just the location,”
says Bryan Kilbane, vice president of Red Stone
Partners, LLC. ■
—Bendix Anderson
Cogswell’s many supportive-housing services.
The redevelopment benefited from a combination of good luck, hard work, and patience.
Developers Detroit Shoreway Community
Development Organization and Cogswell Hall,
Inc., applied twice for a reservation of lowincome housing tax credits, then handed out
by lottery. In 2007, Ohio began to award tax
credits based on merit, and Cogswell received
the highest score in its category.
Tax credit syndicator Ohio Capital
Corporation for Housing (OCCH) paid more than
$4.4 million, more than $0.90 on the dollar, for
the tax credits. OCCH also bought Cogswell’s
state and historic tax credits, closing the deal in
2008, just months before the financial crisis.
To pay for the rest of the $7.8 million
redevelopment, Cogswell won grants from
foundations that required the entire building,
new and old, to win both a silver certification
in Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design and a certification from Enterprise
Green Communities.
Cogswell handled the entire renovation
without displacing residents. ■
—Bendix Anderson
BRITTON BUDD
APARTMENTS
Developer: Chicago Housing Authority
Architect: AECOM
Major Funders: JPMorgan Chase; Red
Stone Partners, LLC; Bank of America;
Chicago Housing Authority
A
COGSWELL HALL
REDEVELOPMENT
AND EXPANSION
Developer: Detroit Shoreway Community
Development Organization and Cogswell
Hall, Inc.
Architect: Dale Serne Architects
Major Funders: Ohio Capital Corporation
for Housing; Ohio Housing Finance Agency;
City of Cleveland Housing Trust Fund; Federal
Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati; Cleveland
Foundation; Enterprise Green Communities
CLEVELAND
ogswell Hall first opened its doors in
1914 to needy children as a “Home for
Friendless Girls.”
In the 1930s and 1940s, young women lived
in the 30 tiny, 100-square-foot rooms. More recently, this single-room occupancy building has
been home to seniors living alone.
Last December, Cogswell Hall welcomed its
newest residents after a gut renovation doubled
its size, making room for 40 small studio apartments. A mix of male and female, low- and
very low-income people now take advantage of
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24
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HOTEL NORTH BEND
Developer: Umpqua Community
Development Corp.
Architect: Dallas Horn
Major Funders: National Equity Fund,
Inc.; Oregon Housing and Community
Services; NeighborWorks America; Enterprise
Green Communities
NORTH BEND, ORE.
ntil 2008, the half-empty Hotel North
Bend loomed over the main intersection of this rural Pacific Coast downtown, dropping chunks of concrete on the
sidewalk below.
Built in 1921, this historic landmark is now
energy efficient and strong enough to survive
an earthquake, with retail space on the first
floor and 32 apartments affordable to low- and
very low-income people above.
Umpqua Community Development Corp.
worked since 2004 to redevelop the old hotel.
By 2008, Umpqua had gathered $6 million
from 10 different sources. But it took a special resilience to survive the earthquake of the
financial crisis.
U
National Equity Fund, Inc. (NEF), had
agreed to buy Hotel North Bend’s 9 percent
low-income housing tax credits for $0.94 on
the dollar. NEF kept its promise, though the
price dropped to $0.90—a $160,000 difference to the project’s budget.
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“The market as a whole dropped
$0.15 to $0.20,” says Betty Tamm,
executive director of Umpqua. “We
were lucky.”
But NEF also reviewed the underwriting for Hotel North Bend and
asked for $1.6 million in additional
seismic engineering to protect the
building from earthquakes.
Engineers wove seven miles of
steel tie wire and more than 40,000
pounds of steel rebar between a
massive interior wall and the historic
hotel’s reinforced concrete Tudor
Revival façade.
Umpqua also added insulation,
energy-efficient windows, and an efficient, central forced-air, heat recapturing, heating, ventilation, and cooling system—improvements that helped Hotel
North Bend win funds to close its budget gap.
By the time it was finished last December,
the $8 million project met the high standards
of the Enterprise Green Communities. ■
—Bendix Anderson
Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
>
Silicon Valley Bank
and Resources for Community Development
Fox Courts, Oakland, CA
Urban Finalist
>>
>
Silicon Valley Bank
and Affordable Housing Associates
Petaluma Avenue Homes, Sebastopol, CA
Family Finalist
>
>
Congratulations Readers’ Choice finalists...
Silicon Valley Bank
and Citizens Housing & TNDC
Mosaica, San Francisco, CA
Master-Planned/Mixed-Use Finalist
Mississippi Valley Life Insurance Co. and
First Community Housing Corporation
Casa Feliz Studios, San Jose, CA
Green Finalist
California Bank & Trust
and Mercy Housing California
10th & Mission Family Housing,
San Francisco, CA
Urban Finalist
…and thanks to the readers of Affordable Housing Finance for recognizing the vision and imagination
that our member financial institutions and their community partners bring to creating environments
where families and individuals can thrive.
FHLBank San Francisco delivers low-cost funding that helps our members make home mortgages to
people of all income levels and extend credit to support and strengthen neighborhoods. Through our
Affordable Housing Program, we are proud to foster collaborations that will have a lasting impact on
the diverse communities served by our members.
fhlbsf.com
and place at-risk youth in restaurant
industry jobs).
THE CRESCENT CLUB
The mixed-income, mixed-use
Developer: The Domain Cos.
Architect: Humphreys & Partners
vision for Crescent Club introduces
Architects
urban residential to a neighborhood
Major Funders: Centerline Capital; Bank
whose character—especially postof America/Freddie Mac; Louisiana Office
Katrina—had been commercial
of Community Development; Louisiana
and industrial blight. The promise is
Housing Finance Agency; City of New
an emerging bio-tech and medical
Orleans Road Repair Funds; Capital One;
juggernaut symbolized by the $2.2
New Orleans Redevelopment Authority
billion Louisiana State University
Veterans Affairs hospital as well as
a new Criminal Justice Center.
Twelve apartments rent at no
Facing stiff headwinds, Domain toiled among
more than 30 percent of the
area median income (AMI), 38 state, city, local community, and investment inat 40 percent of AMI, and 42 units at no more terests to cobble a layering of financial structures
than 60 percent AMI. Market-rate rents are to assemble and build out nearly three square
about 25 percent lower than comparable rents blocks, including 12 owners in five states and
in New Orleans’ Central Business District and two non-U.S. countries.
“It’s played out as we hoped,” says Matthew
the French Quarter, say developers.
Further, the project brings 3,000 square Schwartz, co-founder and principal of The Domain
feet of retail to the corridor, including a Capital Cos. “We’ve got Class A product near the central
One bank branch, a dry cleaner, a nail salon, business district, amid the emerging medical disa Subway, a gourmet pizza store, a wine bar trict, and a new economic center in the city. And
and tapas restaurant, and a coffee shop run by we’re still at it.” ■
—John McManus
Liberty’s Kitchen (a nonprofit that works to train
Photo: Jackson Hill Photography
Lead developer Citizens Housing naviSAN FRANCISCO
gated
an odyssey of community, finanosaica, true to its name, offers
cial, and construction balances to realize
the Mission District 151 new
the project. It started with a decrepit truck
living units and commercial
rental site that needed a costly environspaces whose distinct parts add up to a
mental remediation. Citizens teamed with
complexly balanced blend of affordable
Tenderloin Neighborhood Development
rental and ownership housing, as well as
Corp.—which has taken on ownership—
needed local business uses on site.
evolving the project into a next-generation
Encompassing a city block bordered
real-world model of live-work diversity,
by 18th, 19th, Florida, and Alabama
MASTER-PLANNED/MIXED-USE FINALIST
sustainability, and practicality, with the
streets, the $75 million project went
MOSAICA
San Francisco Planning Department’s
live in April 2009, featuring both ownerDevelopers: Citizens Housing Corp. and Tenderloin
production, distribution, and repair imship condos and affordable rental units.
Neighborhood Development Corp.
peratives built into the DNA of an affordAmong 117 affordable rental apartArchitect: Solomon E.T.C.
able neighborhood.
ments, 93 are for families who earn no
Major Funders: Wells Fargo Bank; City of San Francisco;
“Each stand-alone part involved
more than 50 percent of the area mediFederal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco; California
complexity
on the financing and commuan income (AMI), and 24 are for seniors
Department of Housing and Community Development;
nity
outreach
side,” says Noreen Beiro,
who earn from 15 percent to 35 percent
California Water Resources Control Board Underground
Storage Tank Cleanup Program; National Equity Fund, Inc.
who formerly was interim president of
of AMI. Lutheran Social Services proCitizens Housing and now works consulvides 20 of the family apartments and
tatively with Citizens. “The multiple array
11 of the seniors units with an array of
to 120 percent of AMI. Its transit-oriented lo- of products and services and the complicated
supportive services.
Of Mosaica’s 34 for-sale units, 13 are mar- cation, on-site solar photovoltaics, and Energy stream of overarching agreements make this
ket-rate condos, and 21 are priced for afford- Star-rated appliances and windows make it a project a truly impressive mosaic.” ■
—John McManus
ability among households earning 80 percent green project, to boot.
Photo: Tim Griffith
NEW ORLEANS
he Domain Cos.’ $53 million Crescent Club
community on Tulane Avenue in downtown
New Orleans raises the bar of mixed-use
development to urban economic and cultural viability where once there was none.
Part of Domain’s $125 million—to-date—
multi-phase revitalization along New Orleans’
Tulane Avenue Corridor, the Crescent Club
opened in September 2009 with 228 units,
40 percent of them for lower-income families.
T
M
28
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SANDYWOODS FARM
Developer: Church Community Housing Corp.
Architect: Donald Powers Architects
Major Funders: Rhode Island Housing;
Building Homes Rhode Island; Department of
Housing and Urban Development; Federal Home
Loan Bank of Boston; Town of Tiverton; Rhode
Island Foundation; Citizens Bank; Rhode Island
Department of Energy
T
and galleries for art exhibitions, while 111 acres
of the tract are now and forever in the hands of
the Tiverton Land Trust.
Eighty percent of the 50 rental cottages will
be affordable to households earning less than 60
percent of the area median income (AMI), and 20
percent will rent between 60 percent and 80 percent of AMI. Two of the project’s 24 single-family
homes will go to first-time home buyers, while the
others sell for market rate.
With a nod to picturesque New England
architecture, the buildings will incorporate
structural insulated panels, low-e windows, cellulose insulation, Energy Star appliances, and
high-efficiency heating and ventilation systems,
70 percent of whose power will come from an
on-site wind turbine.
If this model of genuine rural new urbanism seems like a bundle of contradictions in
terms, it is. “The sheer complexity of the multiple, potentially competing goals of this project
was a challenge to cobble together,” says Ann
Berman, assistant director of development for
Rhode Island Housing, the project’s primary
state lending source. “It took a couple of tries
before they were successful getting funding
because of the complications. But it’s the right
thing to do with the land, and we’re proud to be
involved with the CCHC team.” ■
—John McManus
Photo: Donald Powers Architects, Inc.
TIVERTON, R.I.
he charter residents of Tiverton’s
Sandywoods Farm art and agricultural affordable housing community will move in as
this issue goes to press this summer. Eventually,
50 households will be renting cottages and 24
families will be in for-sale single-family homes.
Developed by Newport, R.I.-based Church
Community Housing Corp. (CCHC), Sandywoods
Farm organizes rural housing around a perimeter of a larger agricultural preserve, 29 acres
of which will be farmed by the residents along
with a resident farmer. The project combines
farming with housing for working families, as
well as commercial space to sell farm products
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PRESERVATION FINALIST
Developer: Eden Housing, Inc.
Architect: Weir/Andrewson Associates, Inc.
Major Funders: Bank of America; Merritt
Community Capital; California Department
of Housing and Community Development;
Alameda County; Department of Housing and
Urban Development
SAN LEANDRO, CALIF.
he acquisition and rehab of Ashland
Village started out as a no-brainer for Eden
Housing, Inc., says Executive Director
Linda Mandolini.
T
The owner of the Sec. 8 property in the unincorporated area of Ashland in Alameda County
had passed away, and its Sec. 8 contract was up
for expiration March 31, 2009. The owner’s sons
did not want to keep the project but wanted it to
remain as affordable housing.
However, in the 12 months before closing,
the project’s original lender went out of business; California froze state bond sales, including
the Proposition 1C Multifamily Housing Program
bond financing that was providing a $7.7 million
CHANCELLOR MANOR
Developer: Community Housing
Development Corp.
Architect: Cermak Rhoades Architects
Major Funders: U.S. Bank Community
Development Corp.; Dakota County
Community Development Agency; Minnesota
Housing; Dakota County; Department of
Housing and Urban Development; Family
Housing Fund
BURNSVILLE, MINN.
hancellor Manor, built in 1972 and the
largest project-based Sec. 8 development
in Dakota County, has been undergoing
an extreme makeover during the past year.
The project had been plagued over the years
with security problems and a high volume of
police calls. In a third-ring suburb, it would have
made a good location for market-rate conversion,
but nonprofit Community Housing Development
Corp. (CHDC) stepped up to the plate by acquiring the project in July 2009, preserving 200 Sec.
8 units primarily for families, and committing to
C
32
improve the property as well as the property’s
public image.
Chancellor Manor’s 14 buildings received
new roofs, windows, fiber cement siding, and entry porches as well as increased security and lighting, and hallway improvements. Many detached
garages on the interior of the property were removed to provide better site lines and to address
safety concerns. Landscaping improvements also
have been made, including two new tot lots and
new formal paths between buildings.
Dick Brustad, vice president of CHDC, also
emphasizes the project’s services. CHDC has
partnered with local nonprofit 360 Communities
to provide services such as English as a Second
Language classes for adults and homework help
for students. He adds that the school district and
police department have also been very involved
in helping to transform Chancellor Manor.
“This development has a whole new life,”
Brustad says.
All units are targeted to residents earning less
than 60 percent of the area median income. The
Department of Housing and Urban Development
provides project-based rental assistance for 196
units, and 10 units have been designated for longterm homeless.
The $29.2 million project was financed with
a Minnesota Housing Preservation Affordable
Rental Investment Fund loan, a Dakota
County Housing Opportunities Enhancement
Program loan, low-income housing tax credits
allocated by the Dakota County Community
Development Agency (CDA) and purchased
by U.S. Bank Community Development Corp.,
and a first mortgage underwritten by the
Dakota County CDA. ■
—Christine Serlin
Photo: Chandra Smith for Weir/Andrewson Associates, Inc.
ASHLAND VILLAGE
permanent loan for the project; and a technical
violation of the tax credit’s 10-year rule due to the
inheritance structure created another snag.
But the stars aligned for Eden. The lending
team at Bank of America stepped in to fill the
void. Bank of America agreed to underwrite the
loans without the Prop. 1C program’s deeper
income targeting, and Alameda County agreed
to increase its permanent loan by $5 million to
bridge the potential gap during construction. And
Reps. Barbara Lee and Pete Stark (D-Calif.) rallied
to keep legislation regarding the reform of the 10year rule in the Housing and Economic Reform
Act of 2008. Eden closed on the project in March
2009, with its 4 percent low-income housing tax
credit investor holding its pricing at $0.98 for
more than a year.
Renovations of the $34 million project include
unit and exterior upgrades as well as a new community room.
The project-based Sec. 8 contract was renewed; 53 percent of the 142 units are for residents earning 35 percent of the area median income (AMI), 40 percent at 50 percent of AMI, and
7 percent at 60 percent of AMI. ■
—Christine Serlin
income people for the next 20 years.
CHICAGO
Mercy Housing Lakefront received
any encouraged Mercy
Long-Term Operating Support Subsidy
Housing Lakefront to sell its
and a Low-Income Housing Trust Fund
Malden Arms Apartments,
grant from the city of Chicago to cover
which is located in the Uptown neighall but 10 units so that residents pay no
borhood that has rapidly gentrified
more than 30 percent of their income
over the last several years. Median
on rent. For the $6.4 million project,
condo prices jumped 60 percent from
the nonprofit closed on tax credit re2000 to 2005, taking away many lowsyndication with the Illinois Housing
income efficiencies and forcing many
Development Authority and tax credit
individuals onto the streets and into
investor National Equity Fund, Inc. And
shelters.
the in-place rehab featured numerous
“The mission is our business, and
cost-saving and green elements, of
our business is the mission,” says
MALDEN ARMS APARTMENTS
Developer: Mercy Housing Lakefront
which Holler says she would like to see
Cindy Holler, president of Mercy
Architect: Weese Langley Weese
a 25 percent annual savings.
Housing Lakefront. “A business withMajor Funders: National Equity Fund, Inc.; Illinois Housing
As part of a pilot project for the
out the mission would have sold the
Development Authority; Chicago Department of Community
Clinton Climate Initiative and the city of
building or turned it into market-rate
Development; Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago; Harris
Chicago’s Multi-Family Energy Retrofit
condos. Our mission is to preserve afBank; City of Chicago
Program, Malden Arms now features
fordable housing.”
new Energy Star appliances, energy-efThe property, originally built in the
1920s, had first been transformed into sup- was losing $100,000 per year because of rent ficient lighting, low-flow water fixtures, energyportive housing by Mercy Housing Lakefront’s caps, limited rental subsidies, and high operat- efficient air conditioning, high-efficiency water
predecessor, Lakefront Supportive Housing, ing costs. The nonprofit decided to resyndicate, heaters and boilers, and a reflective membrane
in 1991. The low-income housing tax credits recapitalize, and rehab the 83-unit project in on the roof to reduce its heat island effect. ■
—Christine Serlin
originally used expired in 2006, and the project 2008 to ensure that it could serve very low-
M
MONTEVERDE APARTMENTS
Developer: Greater Baltimore AHC, Inc.
Architect: Hord Coplan Macht
Major Funders: Freddie Mac; Merrill Lynch;
SunTrust Bank; Maryland Department of
Housing and Community Development;
Development
BALTIMORE
reater Baltimore AHC, Inc. (GBAHC), suffered its share of blows acquiring and rehabbing MonteVerde Apartments during
the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Formerly known as Greenhill Housing, the
301 units for low-income seniors were in danger
of being lost when the owner had agreed to sell
to an investor who planned to convert the apartments to market-rate condos. But the deal fell
through, and GBAHC won the bid.
After HOME funds from the city of Baltimore
fell through, GBAHC raced to restructure the
financing, negotiating an 18-year variable-rate
bond issue with a construction letter of credit
G
from SunTrust Bank and a forward commitment
for the credit enhancement from Freddie Mac for
the permanent financing on the $29 million project. GBAHC also lobbied Baltimore for a PILOT to
reduce the property’s annual tax bill by $200,000
per year for 40 years.
The closing date had been set for Sept.
12, 2008, but was rescheduled after Freddie
had been placed in conservatorship. Merrill
Lynch, which was the remarketing agent for the
bonds, was then purchased by Bank of America
on Sept. 14. Despite the upheaval of the finan-
cial world, GBAHC was able to
close after 18 months of negotiations less than one week after the original closing date.
The property was in need
of major recapitalization, with
100 units off-line at the time of
the acquisition. GBAHC worked
with the residents to keep them
in place while it transformed the
two stark buildings into a more
homey environment. The rehab
included the creation of lounges
to give residents a sense of place, updated kitchens and bathrooms, and new carpeting. New
HVAC systems, energy-efficient windows, and
Energy Star lighting fixtures also were installed.
Since MonteVerde is a project-based Sec. 8
property, residents pay no more than 30 percent
of their income for rent.
“It’s been a long struggle with a great ending,” says GBAHC Director Andrew Vincent. “Pride
has returned to the residents, and they want other
people to see where they live.” ■
—Christine Serlin
33
RURAL FINALIST
I-SAH’-DIN’-DII
Developer: Mescalero Apache Housing Authority
Architect: Atkin Olshin Schade Architects
Major Funders: Mescalero Apache Housing Authority; New Mexico
Mortgage Finance Authority; Raymond James Tax Credit Funds, Inc.;
KeyBank; New Mexico Housing Trust Fund
MESCALERO, N.M.
he name I-Sah’-din’-dii means “drumbeat”
in Apache.
It’s a fitting name for a development
nestled in a New Mexico mountain range where,
for generations, members of the Mescalero
Apache tribe have gathered to play music, dance,
and sing.
Demand was so high for the 30 single-family
rental units—the first new development on the
reservation in more than 12 years—that more
than 265 families were on the waiting list before
construction even began.
Almost 77 percent of the families on the reservation earn less than 50 percent of the area median income, and 66 percent live in substandard
or overcrowded housing, according to developer
Mescalero Apache Housing Authority.
T
The
development
reflects the community
at large. Not only were
tribal members trained
in construction skills during development, but
the community room
and most of the units have an east entry, the
traditional Mescalero home orientation. And
Environmental Protection Agency-approved
energy-efficient woodstoves, a traditional heating source, were installed in every unit. Services
include job training and homeownership education programs, financial literacy classes, a computer lab, on-site health care, and access to the
Tribal Day Care Centers.
The $8.8 million development was funded
through more than $5.7 million in low-income
housing tax credit equity syndicated by Raymond
James Tax Credit Funds, Inc., and purchased
by KeyBank; more than $1.3 million in Native
American Housing Assistance funds from the
Mescalero Apache Housing Authority; more
than $750,000 in a construction loan from the
Housing Trust Fund of the New Mexico Mortgage
Finance Authority, which also kicked in $315,000
in a HOME construction/permanent loan; and an
$843,460 deferred developer fee. ■
—Jerry Ascierto
challenges in constructing the 19-unit development, including a five-month building season
and a lack of local skilled labor. So, prefabricated modular construction was employed.
Making sure the modules arrived by barge
in time was difficult enough. But then the
modular plant went bankrupt with only twothirds of the modules completed. The general
contractor worked directly with the plant to
get the final modules built on time.
The housing had to be built on steel pilings to
accommodate the tundra’s permafrost and a high water table.
And design played a big role.
Since the local lifestyle favored
intergenerational housing, the
project features two-, three-, four-,
and even five-bedroom units.
Securing an equity investor in such a remote location,
especially during 2008 and
2009, was impossible. So, the
$12.3 million project scored $7
million in equity through the
Tax Credit Exchange Program;
tapped $843,500 in federal and state HOME
funds; received a $300,000 Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Rural
Housing and Economic Development grant;
found nearly $2.5 million through Alaska
Housing Finance Corp.’s Supplemental Grant
Program; and got nearly $1.7 million in Native
American Housing Assistance funds contributed from the Association of Village Council
Presidents through HUD. ■
—Jerry Ascierto
RURAL FINALIST
TOWNHOMES
AT TOMAGANUK,
HOOPER BAY
Developers: Cook Inlet Housing
Authority and Association of
Village Council Presidents
Regional Housing Authority
Architect: WHPacific
Major Funders: Alaska Housing
Finance Corp.; Association
of Village Council Presidents;
Department of Housing and
Urban Development
HOOPER BAY, ALASKA
ou can’t drive to Hooper Bay. The traditional Eskimo community on the West
Coast of Alaska is only accessible by
plane year-round, though you can take a boat
there from June to October.
The rural community was already struggling with a housing shortage when a fire gutted the heart of the town in August 2006, leaving 70 people homeless.
The local housing authorities faced immense
Y
34
RURAL FINALIST
VILLA SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
Developer: Catholic Housing Services
Architect: Environmental Works
Major Funders: Washington State Housing
Finance Commission; State of Washington
Department of Commerce; Catholic Housing
Services of Western Washington
CENTRALIA, WASH.
ach year, the population of Centralia swells
with the seasons.
A farmworker community located in
the poorest county of Washington, Centralia’s
lack of affordable housing becomes apparent
with the annual influx of migrant workers. And
in 2007, a flood destroyed many homes, compounding the problem.
The shortage forced many workers into substandard or overcrowded housing, or to camp illegally. About 15 percent of the region’s migrant
workers live outdoors or in a shed or a car, while
another 36 percent are in overcrowded units, according to a 2009 Washington State Farmworkers
Trust survey.
The 50-unit Villa San Juan Bautista, built by
E
Catholic Housing Services (CHS), had about 30
applications in mid-April—though the project
won’t come online until August.
NIMBY concerns from a neighboring housing development delayed the project for about
a year. And then there were the archeological
digs. The site, situated on a river, was considered a perfect spot for a Native American village, and CHS had to work closely with the
Chehalis Tribe and Department of Archeology
and Historic Preservation on extensive tests,
reports, and permits.
The development will feature a community
garden, a computer lab, playgrounds, and services such as health care, mental health, and
chemical dependency services. Activities like
English classes and homeownership training are
also planned. And the development will feature a
“mud room,” with designated places for shoe and
outerware removal, for the migrant workers.
The $8.9 million development was funded
with more than $6.9 million from the Tax Credit
Exchange Program; $1.8 million through the
State of Washington Department of Commerce;
and a deferred developer fee of $157,632. ■
—Jerry Ascierto
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a vibrant development with affordPALO ALTO, CALIF.
able apartments and market-rate
lta Torre provides 55 units of affordtownhomes—all in close collaboable seniors housing while compleration and integration with the admenting the adjacent Taube Koret
jacent Taube Koret Campus for
Campus for Jewish Life.
Jewish Life.”
These developments along with new
BUILD (BRIDGE Urban Infill
market-rate housing are the cornerstones of
Land Development) is an initiaa new pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use neightive with the California Public
borhood.
Employees’ Retirement System to
Developed by nonprofit BRIDGE Housing,
SENIORS FINALIST
build in key urban infill locations.
Alta Torre has deep income-targeting, serving
Alta Torre is designed to work
residents earning between 25 percent and 40
ALTA TORRE
Developer: BRIDGE Housing
with the adjacent campus, which
percent of the area median income. Twenty
Architect: Steinberg Architects
is anchored by the Oshman Family
units are reserved as supportive housing for
Major Funders: Union Bank; Silicon Valley Bank; Opportunity
Jewish Community Center. BRIDGE
frail elderly individuals who could be placed
Fund; Sobrato Affordable Housing Fund; Housing Trust of
is providing a one-year membership
in a nursing facility but want to remain indeSanta Clara County; City of Palo Alto; Santa Clara County
to the center to all initial residents,
pendent as long as possible.
Affordable Housing Fund/Stanford Affordable Housing
giving them access to cultural proArea service providers will deliver or conFund; California Department of Housing and Community
grams and recreational facilities, innect residents with vital services, including
Development; California Tax Credit Allocation Committee;
cluding indoor and outdoor pools.
case management, in-home services, and
California Debt Limit Allocation Committee; BUILD
Financing includes 4 percent
nearby adult day care.
low-income housing tax credit equiDesigned with several green features,
including a solar hot water heater, the $18 million Cynthia A. Parker, president and CEO of BRIDGE ty from Union Bank and loans from the California
Housing. “Our BUILD affiliate led the community Department of Housing and Community
development will open this summer.
“We’re proud to bring affordable homes for outreach and entitlement process to redevelop Development and Silicon Valley Bank. ■
—Donna Kimura
seniors into this dynamic new community,” says the former Sun Microsystems headquarters into
A
SENIORS FINALIST
THE BIRCHES AT ESOPUS
Developer: Birchez Associates, LLC
Architect: Kurzon Architects
Major Funders: New York State Housing
Finance Agency; First Sterling; New York State
Division of Housing and Community Renewal;
State of New York Mortgage Agency; Federal
Home Loan Bank of New York; the Town of
Esopus
T
36
Eight units are handicapped accessible, and
all units are handicapped ready with roll-in showers installed. All units have emergency pull cords
so seniors can call for help.
The development encourages an active lifestyle, with ample outdoor and community space.
An exercise studio is staffed with a fitness coach.
Understanding that isolation is a common issue
for seniors, Birchez Associates also funds a senior
advocate to lend a sympathetic ear and guide
residents on services.
To assist in the residents’ heath-care needs,
the firm has teamed with nonprofit Elant, Inc.,
Photo: John Halpern
ULSTER PARK, N.Y.
he Birches at Esopus is the first affordable
housing community in the town of Esopus,
an area encompassing 40 square miles
with about 9,500 residents.
Overlooking the Hudson River, the new development provides 80 one- and two-bedroom
apartments for seniors earning no more than
50 percent and 60 percent of the area median
income.
Birchez Associates, LLC, an experienced
Hudson Valley affordable housing developer, built
an amenity-rich development where residents
can age in place, says Steven Aaron, managing
member.
on the “Nurse Is In” program, which
brings a nurse to the property for
regular office hours.
The development is also notable
for its green design. It has been
recognized by the New York State
Energy Research and Development
Authority for achieving more than
30 percent savings over the state
energy codes. Solar panels provide
about 70 percent of the domestic
hot water for the building and 40
percent of the heat.
The $18 million development was funded
largely by bonds from the New York State Housing
Finance Agency, enhanced by the State of New
York Mortgage Agency and low-income housing
tax credits syndicated by First Sterling.
Additional financing partners include the
New York State Housing Trust Fund through the
Division of Housing and Community Renewal and
the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. The
town of Esopus and Birchez also contributed to
the deal. ■
—Donna Kimura
“This makes it possible for seniors to live
a higher-quality life without complete dependence on a car for mobility and survival,” says
Peter Ansara, executive director of the Korean
Women’s Association (KWA), the nonprofit developer. “Smart connections to the neighborhood
and beyond make this project a national model.”
Besides being transit oriented, Senior City sup-
ports environmental sustainability. Green features
include a unique mini-heat pump system that will
reduce energy use by about 40 percent. The development used a new $250,000 Energy Efficiency
and Conservation Block Grant funded under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The $17 million development is home to the
KWA Community Facility, which will provide a
suite of social services to residents and more than
7,200 clients in the region.
To develop the 62-unit community, KWA
combined a federal Sec. 202 capital advance with
4 percent low-income housing tax credits syndicated by Enterprise Community Investment and
tax-exempt bond financing provided by JPMorgan
Chase. Bond financing will be used during construction. There is no permanent debt. Common
Ground was the development consultant.
As a Sec. 202 property, it has a Department
of Housing and Urban Development project rental assistance contract rent of $442 per month per
unit. While residents earning up to 50 percent of
the area median income are eligible, the rental
subsidies are providing opportunities for extremely low-income seniors earning much less. ■
—Donna Kimura
hurricane, including the popular Forest Towers
East. Not only that, the project’s neighborhood
was virtually abandoned, leaving no services for
its elderly residents.
The nonprofit decided to rebuild at a different
site. VOA secured a parcel in Jefferson Parish, but
neighborhood opposition forced the team to look
for yet another location. That meant the team
would likely miss the deadline to begin construction and claim GO Zone depreciation. In response,
VOA and others worked to change federal law to
extend the start date for GO Zone projects.
Other moves were also necessary to re-
place Forest Towers East, an
older Sec. 202 project that had a
housing assistance payment contract. In order to make the new
development viable, VOA needed
some sort of operating subsidy to
keep rents low. Working with the
Development, VOA utilized a littleknown Sec. 318 transfer program
to transfer the operating subsidy
to the new project. As a result,
residents pay no more than 30 percent of their
income toward rent.
When The Terraces on Tulane opened this
year, 46 of the initial residents were from Forest
Towers East. Many reunited for the first time since
the hurricane.
The $41 million project was funded with about
$31 million in tax credit equity from JPMorgan
Capital Corp. and the National Affordable Housing
Trust. JPMorgan also provided a permanent loan,
and the Major League Baseball Players Trust contributed $250,000. ■
—Donna Kimura
SENIORS FINALIST
SENIOR CITY APARTMENTS
Photo: Peter Ansara
Developer: Korean Women’s Association
Architect: Environmental Works
Major Funders: Enterprise Community Investment; JPMorgan Chase; Department of Housing
and Urban Development; State of Washington Housing Trust Fund; King County; City of Federal
Way; Department of Energy; Enterprise Green Communities; Washington State Housing
Finance Commission; Sound Transit
FEDERAL WAY, WASH.
enior City Apartments addresses the housing and transportation needs of its elderly
residents. A prime example of a transitoriented development, the community is built on
surplus land left from the creation of the adjacent
Federal Way Transit Center, a 24-hour hub for the
regional transit system.
S
SENIORS FINALIST
THE TERRACES ON TULANE
Photo: Courtesy of Volunteers of America
Developer: Volunteers of America
Architect: Sizeler Thompson Brown
Architects
Major Funders: JPMorgan Capital Corp.;
National Affordable Housing Trust; Major
League Baseball Players Trust; Louisiana
Housing Finance Agency; Department of
Housing and Urban Development; the City
of New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS, LA.
eniors displaced by Hurricane Katrina have
found a home at The Terraces on Tulane.
Built by Volunteers of America (VOA),
the 200-unit development is one of a small
number of affordable housing communities
funded by Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone housing
tax credits that has finished construction and
opened its doors. “The whole theme of coming
home is what this is about,” says Patrick Sheridan,
senior vice president of housing development.
VOA has had a large presence in New Orleans,
and many of its properties were damaged in the
S
37
PORTLAND, MAINE
lorence House is a haven for homeless
women. In simple terms, the project provides a roof over people’s heads. But it
is much more complex, delivering three types
of housing in a single building—25 efficiency
apartments, 15 “safe haven” units, and room
for up to 25 emergency shelter beds.
“Florence House has dramatically changed
the conversation around homelessness in
Portland and in Maine,” says Dana Totman,
president of nonprofit Avesta Housing. “Portland
understands that emergency shelters are not the
answer. This is a viable small city model to end
chronic homelessness.”
The second and third floors contain the 25
low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) apartments
for chronically homeless and disabled individuals
who are able to be more independent.
The first floor houses the safe haven units,
semi-private clusters of personal areas with a bed
and a wardrobe. These are intended as permanent living space for chronically homeless women
who are not ready for their own apartments.
Some residents have paranoia or claustrophobia,
so the clusters are designed to provide privacy
SPECIAL-NEEDS FINALIST
F
FLORENCE HOUSE
Developer: Avesta Housing
Architect: Gawron Turgeon Architects
Major Funders: Northern New England Housing
Investment Fund; MaineHousing; NeighborWorks
America; Genesis Fund; TD Bank; Federal Home
Loan Bank of Boston; Department of Housing
and Urban Development; Maine Health and
Human Services; Portland Housing Authority;
the City of Portland
without feeling constrained.
While the apartments and safe haven units go
a long way to ending homelessness among women in the area, developers included the shelter to
respond to episodic homelessness.
Florence House embraces the Housing First
model of getting the homeless into their own
homes as quickly as possible. It also is the first affordable housing development in the state to use
geothermal heating and cooling systems.
Avesta has partnered with Preble Street, the
state’s main provider of homeless services, to offer a range of programs at Florence House.
Financing for the $7.7 million development
included about $4 million in LIHTC equity from
the Northern New England Housing Investment
Fund and subsidies from MaineHousing, the city
of Portland, Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston,
TD Bank, and the Department of Housing and
Urban Development. ■
—Donna Kimura
A
38
Photo: Sally Painter
PORTLAND, ORE.
tired 45-year-old Ramada Inn has been
transformed into an innovative affordable
housing development for the city’s neediest residents.
The 176-unit Madrona Studios provides permanent supportive housing, alcohol- and drugfree units, and workforce apartments for program graduates and other low-income residents.
Madrona Studios also includes a 70-bed drug and
alcohol recovery center. All have rents restricted
at 40 percent of the area median income.
By creatively reusing the five-story hotel, de-
an upgraded solar water heating system,
improved insulation with heat reflective
MADRONA STUDIOS
roofing, and a bike room for 130 biDeveloper: Central City Concern
cycles.
Architect: William Wilson Architects
Madrona Studios, which uses 23
Major Funders: U.S. Bank; Wells Fargo Bank;
funding
sources, required a complex fiCity of Portland; Multnomah County; Oregon
Housing and Community Services; Network
nancing structure.
for Oregon Affordable Housing; Federal Home
To make the $25 million project
Loan Bank of Seattle; Homestreet Bank;
work, the ownership of the building was
Enterprise Green Communities; Energy Trust
separated into two legal entities, with
of Oregon; Providence Mother Joseph Fund;
132 units—96 workforce and 36 supAlbina Community Bank
portive housing—on the top three floors
funded largely through $7.1 million in
velopers were able to deliver the units at about low-income housing tax credit equity from U.S.
half the cost of new construction, according to Bank and $5.2 million in tax increment financing
the local nonprofits behind the project, developer from the Portland Development Commission. In
Central City Concern (CCC), which has a history the second entity, 44 drug- and alcohol-free supof serving the hardest to house, and consultant portive-housing units on the second floor and the
first-floor detox center are funded with the help
Housing Development Center.
“Our theme is changing lives and building of $2.8 million in New Markets Tax Credit equity
communities,” says Ed Blackburn, CCC executive from Wells Fargo Bank and $3.7 million in bond
financing from the Portland Housing Bureau.
director. “This project fits so well into that.”
The city of Portland, Multnomah County, and
The reuse of the structure is just one of the
ways that Madrona Studios is a green develop- Oregon Housing and Community Services are
ment. A transit-oriented project that’s helping key financing partners. ■
—Donna Kimura
revitalize the neighborhood, the building features
LOCKPORT, N.Y.
lind and other disabled residents have a
safe and affordable home at the Nelson
Hopkins Apartments.
The 24-unit community is designed to provide
easy mobility and increased safety for its special
population, which often suffers falls and injuries
related to an unsafe home environment.
Developed by nonprofit Olmsted Center for
Sight, the building is loaded with state-of-the art
features, including an emergency call system in
each apartment, adjustable cabinets and countertops, a talking elevator, and special lighting.
All the apartments, which were set to open at
the end of June, will have at least one independent individual who is blind, visually impaired, or
has another disability.
The development also answers the issue
of affordability, with the units targeted to those
earning no more than 50 percent of the area median income. Rents are about 40 percent below
market rents.
By providing safe and affordable homes,
residents can remain independent and live without barriers, says Milissa Acquard, COO at the
Photo: George Lama Photography
B
NELSON HOPKINS APARTMENTS
of finding a national low-income housing tax credit investor by turning to local banking
relationships.
The $4.9 million development was financed with $2.1
million in tax credit equity
from syndicator RBC Capital Markets and investor M&T Bank. The New York State Division of
Housing and Community Renewal provided the
tax credit award and $2.4 million through the
recently created Tax Credit Assistance Program.
The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York
provided $400,000. ■
—Donna Kimura
Developer: Olmsted Center for Sight
Architect: Silvestri Architects
Major Funders: RBC Capital Markets; M&T Bank; New York
State Division of Housing and Community Renewal; Dormitory
Authority of the State of New York; First Niagara Bank
Olmsted Center.
One of the unique features at Nelson Hopkins
is that residents are linked to the National Statler
Center for Careers in Hospitality Service, a program of Olmsted Center that provides training
and job placement in the customer-service field.
Located in the town of Lockport, a suburb of
Buffalo, Nelson Hopkins overcame the challenge
Opening
more doors…
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NEW CARVER APARTMENTS
Developer: Skid Row Housing Trust
Architect: Michael Maltzan Architects
Major Funders: Citi Community Capital; Los Angeles Housing Department;
California Department of Housing and Community Development; California
Tax Credit Allocation Committee; Enterprise Community Investment; Century
Housing; California Community Foundation
T
and other programs.
Developers used several new financing programs to fund the $33 million development, including the city’s Permanent Supportive Housing
Program, which links Sec. 8 project-based vouchers with the Los Angeles Housing Department’s
housing capital application so developers can
make a single application for both.
It was also one of the first to utilize funds
from Proposition 1C, a statewide voter-approved
housing bond that is providing capital to affordable housing. And, New Carver is also using the
Tax Credit Exchange Program, which was created
under the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act to help low-income housing tax credit projects
during the economic downturn. ■
—Donna Kimura
help them to make changes in their
BATTLE CREEK, MICH.
lives.”
omeless veterans filled
The location benefits the men
Silver Star Apartments in
and women who live at Silver
a short 39 days, a strong
Star by placing them close to the
show of demand for the 75 permaprograms at the VA campus. The
nent supportive-housing units.
majority of residents have been
Built on the grounds of the
referred by the medical center.
Battle Creek Veterans Affairs
In addition, Family Home Health
Medical Center, the development
Services provides case manageis the first low-income housing tax
ment and other services.
credit (LIHTC) community of its
The one-bedroom apartments
kind in the state.
come
furnished and have their own
The special location required
patio or balcony.
Marvin Veltkamp and his team at
SILVER STAR APARTMENTS
Much of the financing for the
Trilogy Development to negotiate a
Developer: Trilogy Development
$8.9 million development came
tricky enhanced-use lease to build
Architect: Economides Architects
from $4.7 million in LIHTC equity
on federal land. After lengthy negoMajor Funders: Great Lakes Capital Fund; Michigan State
from Great Lakes Capital Fund.
tiations with Veterans Affairs (VA)
Housing Development Authority; Department of Housing and
The Michigan State Housing
and the help of Michigan’s U.S.
Urban Development
Development Authority (MSHDA)
senators, the developer was able to
is providing project-based housing
obtain a 75-year lease.
Veltkamp is also CEO of Medallion work miracles, but they can set the stage in choice vouchers for all the units, which bring
Management, the leaseholder and managing which miracles occur,” he says. “We have been in rental subsidies to keep rents low. MSHDA
able to reach the hearts of these homeless also provided key loans to the project. ■
agent.
—Donna Kimura
“Flowers, clay, art, and sunlit spaces don’t veterans. We are able to touch their lives and
H
40
Photo: Iwan Baan
LOS ANGELES
he New Carver Apartments achieves both
high purpose and high style. Built by the Skid
Row Housing Trust (SRHT), the 97-unit development provides permanent supportive-housing
units for formerly homeless men and women.
At the same time, it makes a bold statement that design matters even when serving
the homeless.
New Carver illustrates the importance of design in facilitating recovery from homelessness
by “making the on-site services functional in the
way they are laid out in the building and by creat-
ing spaces that promote
positive social interaction,” says Mike Alvidrez,
SRHT executive director.
Designed by acclaimed architect Michael
Maltzan, the dramatic six-story spiral with faceted walls has attracted public and media attention for a group that’s often ignored.
The building’s unique shape came about as
a way to mitigate noise from the nearby freeway.
Sound moves around the building’s curves, lessening the impact.
Inside, a central courtyard and airy decks
aim to uplift residents and encourage them to
be part of the community. Services are also key
at New Carver, with residents having access to
crisis services, health care, benefits advocacy,
URBAN FINALIST
10TH AND MISSION FAMILY HOUSING
Developer: Mercy Housing California
Architect: Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz
Major Funders: RBC Capital Markets; Union Bank; San Francisco
Redevelopment Agency; San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing;
California Tax Credit Allocation Committee; California Debt Limit
Allocation Committee; Department of Housing and Urban Development;
Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco; Cal Bank and Trust;
Enterprise Green Communities; Home Depot Foundation
M
A
42
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE
home model, future homeowners and volunteers
picked up hammers to build the development.
The organization piloted a new mortgage program with the State of New York Mortgage Agency,
which featured a 2 percent fixed-interest rate loan
over 30 years, with buyers putting in 300 hours of
sweat equity and a 1 percent downpayment.
Built on a long-vacant, trash-filled lot, the
$11.6 million development was built with numer-
ous green features, earning a Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design gold designation.
Financing included a $3.3 million construction loan from Citi Community Capital, $1.6 million from the New York State Affordable Housing
Corp., $1.1 million from the New York City
Housing Trust Fund, $400,000 from the Brooklyn
Borough President’s Office, $820,000 from the
Brooklyn Community Foundation, and $308,000
in HOME funds from the state Division of Housing
and Community Renewal. ■
—Donna Kimura
URBAN FINALIST
ATLANTIC AVENUE
RESIDENCES
Developer: Habitat for Humanity New
York City, Inc.
Architect: Dattner Architects
Major Funders: Citi Community Capital;
New York State Affordable Housing Corp.;
New York City Housing Trust Fund; Brooklyn
Borough President’s Office; Brooklyn
Community Foundation; New York State
Division of Housing and Community Renewal;
New York City Department of Housing
Preservation and Development
Photo: Ari Burling
BROOKLYN, N.Y.
tlantic Avenue Residences is the largest and greenest multifamily development built in the nation by a Habitat for
Humanity affiliate.
Located in the Ocean Hill-Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, one of the lowest-income
areas in New York City, Atlantic Avenue provides 41 affordable for-sale homes by adapting
Habitat’s familiar single-family home model to a
multifamily urban development.
“When we get a piece of land, we can put
a few townhomes or single-family homes on it,
but there is such a need we try to be creative to
serve as many families as we can,” says Executive
Director Josh Lockwood.
Habitat for Humanity New York City, Inc., received nearly 10,000 requests for applications for
the property. The condos target families earning
between 45 percent and 80 percent of the area
median income. Homeowners paid between
$75,000 and $200,000 for their homes based on
their incomes. The costs were calculated so families pay no more than 33 percent of their incomes
on their monthly housing expenses.
Just like in the organization’s single-family
the way for other projects, with three more highdensity developments planned nearby.
The $69 million project, which includes the
youth center and commercial space, received
more than $25 million from the San Francisco
Redevelopment Agency.
The project uses 4 percent low-income housing tax credit equity from RBC Capital Markets
and a tax-exempt bond-backed loan from Union
Bank. The Department of Housing and Urban
Development helped fund the youth center
through its Economic Development Initiative.
More than 3,000 applications were submitted
by prospective residents. ■
—Donna Kimura
Photo: ©2009 Michael O’Callahan
SAN FRANCISCO
ercy Housing California has broken
new ground, building the first affordable housing high-rise in the city in
about 20 years. Standing 12 stories, 10th and
Mission Family Housing provides 135 affordable
apartments while dispelling the notion that highrises are not an appropriate building model for
low-income families.
In creating the development, Mercy Housing
provided generous open space on site and units
to support larger families. The development is
home to 91 families earning no more than 50 per-
cent of the area median
income and 44 formerly
homeless families. A city-funded initiative called
the Local Operating Support Program allows the
formerly homeless households to pay just 30 percent of their incomes for rent.
The development is distinguished by a
5,000-square-foot youth center, where Catholic
Charities Catholic Youth Organization provides
after-school care and educational programs.
Replacing a diner and parking lot, the project
is also important to the larger community, serving
as a linchpin in the revitalization of the neighborhood. A local coffeehouse leases retail space in
the buildings. In addition, 10th and Mission leads
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bedroom apartments and are home to
OAKLAND, CALIF.
many families, including 125 children.
ox Courts is the affordable housFox Courts provides residents
ing element in the city’s Uptown
with an array of services including
redevelopment plan.
computer, employment search, and
It almost didn’t happen after the
resume building classes for adults
original proposals omitted any signifiand a homework club for the youths.
cant affordable housing. A coalition of
In addition, the development
advocates fought for years to include
solves the transportation challenga diverse range of housing in the rees for many low-income workers by
development efforts that included
being just a block away from a re700 new market-rate homes and the URBAN FINALIST
gional light-rail station. Fox Courts
renovation of a historic theater.
FOX COURTS
has a number of other green feaAfter the city agreed to the idea,
Developer: Resources for Community Development
tures, including photovoltaic panels
nonprofit Resources for Community
Architect: Pyatok Architects
to power the common areas. Every
Development (RCD) was selected
Major Funders: Alliant Capital; Union Bank; California Tax Credit
apartment also uses efficient hyto turn a parking lot into affordable
Allocation Committee; California Debt Limit Allocation Committee;
dronic heat radiators.
housing.
City of Oakland; Alameda County; Oakland Housing Authority;
The development was financed
RCD has built a $33.7 million
Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco; Silicon Valley Bank;
with nearly $14 million in 4 percent
mixed-use, transit-oriented, artsStopWaste.org; Enterprise Green Communities
low-income housing tax credits alenriched complex with 80 affordable
located by the California Tax Credit
apartments for residents earning
between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area ating a significant amount of affordable housing Allocation Committee and syndicated by Alliant
median income. Six of the homes are reserved for when larger developments or larger revitaliza- Capital. Tax-exempt bonds were allocated by the
people with HIV/AIDS, and four are for residents tions are happening in cities,” says RCD Executive California Debt Limit Allocation Committee, and
Union Bank was a key lender. ■
Director Dan Sawislak.
with mental illnesses.
—Donna Kimura
The units range from studios and lofts to four“Fox Courts points out the importance of cre-
F
ST. MARTIN’S APARTMENTS
Developer: Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington
Architect: Grimm + Parker
Major Funders: Archdiocese of Washington; D.C. Department of Housing
and Community Development; D.C. Housing Authority; D.C. Housing Finance
Agency; Enterprise Community Investment; Fannie Mae; William S. Abell
Foundation; Union Bank
WASHINGTON, D.C.
t. Martin’s Apartments has been dubbed
a miracle. Developing the 178-unit community required moving a historic convent
and calling on some unique funding sources.
Scheduled to open in September, the development will include 128 units affordable to
families earning no more than 60 percent of the
area median income, including 10 that are fully
accessible to disabled individuals and 50 public
S
44
housing units.
The complex is on land
donated by the Archdiocese of
Washington, leading to a new
partnership between the faith
community and the District of
Columbia Housing Authority.
Located in the Eckington neighborhood, St.
Martin’s marks the first new affordable housing
built in the northeast section of the district in a
generation, according to project sponsors.
The hilly site presented a challenge to developer Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of
Washington. It moved a historic brick convent
and excavated the hill before replacing it back on
the site to integrate it into the new building.
Financing the $42.6 million project also
required some deft moves. Developers used
Replacement Housing Factor Funds to subsidize
the construction of the public housing units.
Various restrictions on these federal funds have
limited their use overall, according to officials,
who used the funds along with low-income housing tax credits and tax-exempt bonds.
The project closed a funding gap by linking
with a downtown commercial project. In return
for a multi-million dollar injection of cash into St.
Martin’s, the commercial project was able to reduce its on-site residential requirement.
Enterprise Community Investment, Union
Bank, and several local agencies provided key
financing, and NorthStar Development and
Consulting assisted in the development. ■
—Donna Kimura
Photo: Domin Photography
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3:30 – 4:00 pm
Coffee Break
3:15 – 4:00 pm
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4:00 – 5:30 pm
4:00 – 5:30 pm
◾ Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Allocations:
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