Security Properties has acquired a 99-unit multifamily housing development that holds special meaning for one of its executives.
Bryon Gongaware, managing director of affordable housing at the company, lived at the Mt. Vernon Terrace Apartments in Spokane, Washington, as a young boy on two separate occasions.
It was home to him and his mother when he was 5 and then again when he was about 8.
“It’s near and dear to my heart,” Gongaware tells Affordable Housing Finance. “I still have family in Spokane, and I visit regularly. I have driven by the property over the years. I’ve watched it deteriorate unfortunately. It’s been on my radar that at some point if there was an opportunity, I would jump on it and make it happen.”
During those early years, he made lifelong friendships that continue today, he says, recalling the support he received from the property managers, the maintenance manager, and others.
Those experiences help guide his work at Security Properties, a national real estate investment, development, and operating company headquartered in Seattle. The firm focuses on multifamily and affordable housing.
“We look at these properties as a safety net for these families,” Gongaware says. “We want to create an opportunity for these families to build a quality life and family of their dreams. Creating that level of stability is really important.”
Built in 1973, the development has 99 units, of which 74 benefit from a property-based Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract.
“We looked at it as potentially being at risk and something we wanted to preserve for the long term,” says Gongaware. As part of its execution plan, Security Properties has renewed the HAP contract for 20 years.
The development is also in need of physical improvements, so the company plans to make a substantial investment in improving the apartments as well as the building exterior. It will also be installing a new leasing office and community center for residents.
Overall, it’s about a $20 million project that’s conventionally financed with equity from Security Properties.
The company has two other developments in the Spokane area.
