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Affordable Housing FinanceSPECIAL FOCUSReaders' Choice Finalists Urban FinalistsAFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE • July/August 2010
10TH AND MISSION FAMILY HOUSING
Photo: ©2009 Michael O’Callahan Developer: Mercy Housing California
SAN FRANCISCO— Mercy 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 percent 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 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 ATLANTIC AVENUE RESIDENCES
Photo: Ari Burling Developer: Habitat for Humanity New
York City, Inc.
BROOKLYN, N.Y.— Atlantic 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 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 numerous 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 FOX COURTS
Photo: Domin Photography Developer: Resources for Community Development
OAKLAND, CALIF.— Fox Courts is the affordable housing element in the city’s Uptown redevelopment plan. It almost didn’t happen after the original proposals omitted any signifi- cant affordable housing. A coalition of advocates fought for years to include a diverse range of housing in the redevelopment efforts that included 700 new market-rate homes and the renovation of a historic theater. After the city agreed to the idea, nonprofit Resources for Community Development (RCD) was selected to turn a parking lot into affordable housing. RCD has built a $33.7 million mixed-use, transit-oriented, artsenriched complex with 80 affordable apartments for residents earning between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area median income. Six of the homes are reserved for people with HIV/AIDS, and four are for residents with mental illnesses. “Fox Courts points out the importance of creating a significant amount of affordable housing when larger developments or larger revitalizations are happening in cities,” says RCD Executive Director Dan Sawislak. The units range from studios and lofts to fourbedroom apartments and are home to many families, including 125 children. Fox Courts provides residents with an array of services including computer, employment search, and resume building classes for adults and a homework club for the youths. In addition, the development solves the transportation challenges for many low-income workers by being just a block away from a regional light-rail station. Fox Courts has a number of other green features, including photovoltaic panels to power the common areas. Every apartment also uses efficient hydronic heat radiators. The development was financed with nearly $14 million in 4 percent low-income housing tax credits allocated by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and syndicated by Alliant Capital. Tax-exempt bonds were allocated by the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee, and Union Bank was a key lender. —Donna Kimura ST. MARTIN’S APARTMENTS
Developer: Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C.— St. 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 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 |
