Pennrose, a leading affordable housing developer, has announced the grand opening of two properties and the start of another community.
In Findlay, Ohio, the firm and the Blanchard Valley Health System (BVHS) celebrated the grand opening of Eastern Woods Senior, expanding the offerings in the 120-acre mixed-use Eastern Woods campus.
Eastern Woods Senior features 44 one- and six two-bedroom apartments available to senior households earning up to 60% of the area median income (AMI). Five homes are set aside for residents participating in the Section 811 program, which connects individuals with disabilities to affordable housing. The rental apartments are located within a three-story elevator building with a host of on-site amenities, including laundry facilities, resident storage, a fitness center, community gathering space, an outdoor patio, ample parking, and a leasing and management office. The building has been designed to meet “aging in place” design requirements and achieves LEED Silver standards to ensure energy efficiency.
Eastern Woods Senior sits adjacent to Birchaven Village, BVHS’ continuum of care retirement community. The location provides residents with easy access to Birchaven Village’s extensive senior-focused services, resources, and amenities as well the other health care services on the campus. Pennrose will also provide tailored, on-site programming
The campus also includes market-rate units at the Apartments at Eastern Woods and single-family homes at the Birchaven Estates at Eastern Woods.
This $9.4 million development is financed with low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, equity investment from CVS/Aetna and syndicated by Hunt Capital Partners, as well as an award of Affordable Housing Program funds through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati and debt provided by RiverHills Bank.
Pennrose is increasingly partnering with local health care systems across the country to provide safe, accessible affordable housing that improves residents’ overall quality of life.
Northside Village
In New York, the firm, the Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority (SMHA), and Duvernay + Brooks celebrated the opening of Northside Village, the first phase of the Yates Village public housing redevelopment in the Goose Hill/Northside neighborhood of Schenectady.
The first of two phases, Phase I substantially rehabilitated 25 existing apartments and added 64 new homes along Van Vranken Avenue.
Northside Village offers one-, two-, and three-bedroom townhouse and garden-style affordable apartments available at 30% to 80% of the AMI. Of the 89 total units, 18 are set aside for individuals with special needs and veterans and 57 of the units are supported by SMHA Section 8 project-based vouchers. All residents that were temporarily relocated during Phase I construction were given first priority to return to the revitalized community.
The modern apartments feature contemporary kitchens with electric ranges and dishwashers, in-unit washers and dryers, spacious closets, vinyl flooring, and central A/C. The first phase also added a brand-new, 12,000-square-foot community building to the site, with 3,000 square feet dedicated to resident amenities, including a fitness center, a playground, and a management suite. The remaining 9,000 square feet will be rented to three local nonprofits—the Boys & Girls Clubs of Schenectady, Bethesda House (a food pantry), and the Schenectady Community Action Program (an early learning center), each supported with funding from the Schenectady Foundation to assist with the startup.
Built in 1948, the 300-unit Yates Village spans 20 acres and is the largest public housing development in the city. Phase II is expected to begin this fall and includes the redevelopment of 211 affordable apartments.
The first phase of Northside Village was awarded competitive 9% LIHTCs from New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) and received about $5.2 million in subsidy through HCR’s Housing Trust Funds and Community Investments Funds programs. Hunt Capital Partners acted as the tax credit syndicator, JPMorgan Chase was the investor and provided construction financing, Lument provided permanent financing, and SMHA provided an acquisition loan for the project. Metroplex provided a PILOT and tax exemptions for the 100% affordable development.
John Arthur Flats
In Cincinnati, Northsiders Engaged in Sustainable Transformation (NEST) and Pennrose broke ground on John Arthur Flats, the city’s first LGBTQ-friendly affordable senior housing community. Located in the Northside neighborhood, the new development includes 57 affordable apartments and tailored on-site supportive services. The community is slated for completion in summer 2022.
In a three-story, elevator building, John Arthur Flats will include studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments for seniors at 30% to 60% of the AMI. Residents will have access to robust on-site amenities, including a fitness center, an outdoor terrace, laundry facilities, parking, and the Maureen Wood Community Room. The community is in an ideal walkable location with easy access to the Northside business district, McKie Recreation Center, and other nearby amenities.
On-site supportive services will be provided by Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio, Pennrose Management Co., CAIN (Churches Active in Northside), and Caracole, the Greater Cincinnati region’s nonprofit AIDS service organization.
“Today marks the first step in transforming a formerly vacant, underutilized site into a vibrant community asset,” said Timothy I. Henkel, principal and senior vice president at Pennrose. “LGBTQ older adults experience higher rates of poverty and housing discrimination, and innovative housing solutions like John Arthur Flats create an inclusive, safe, and welcoming environment for seniors to age in place comfortably. We hope this development serves as an example in neighborhoods throughout Ohio and the country.”
The development commemorates local history and is named in recognition of the late John Montgomery Arthur, a Cincinnati native and husband of the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage in the United States. In addition, the new community space honors Maureen Wood. Before her passing, Wood was a longtime Northsider, LGBTQ neighborhood pioneer, Crazy Ladies Bookstore owner, and was known for teaching home-repair and improvement classes to single women and mothers.
This $13 million redevelopment is financed with LIHTCs from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, equity syndicated by CREA, HOME funding from the city of Cincinnati, an Affordable Housing Program award of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, and debt underwritten by Fifth Third Bank.
Pennrose is committed to developing high-quality, affordable LGBTQ-friendly housing for seniors, including Haven Green, a 123-unit affordable community in New York City, and John C. Anderson Apartments in Philadelphia. Pennrose is also transforming the former Rogers School in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood into the region’s first LGBTQ-friendly senior housing community.
