Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. is preserving and rehabilitating a portfolio of nine multifamily housing developments in Chicago.
To help finance the effort, Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital, the commercial and multifamily mortgage banking subsidiary of Enterprise Community Investment, has closed a $20.5 million loan to rehabilitate the properties in the West Town and Humboldt Park neighborhoods.
Victor Agusta, executive vice president at Bellwether Enterprise, arranged the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) construction-to-perm loan on behalf of Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp.
“Victory Apartments has provided a crucial source of affordable housing for families in Chicago for decades amid rising pressures of gentrification,” says Agusta. “We are proud to help enhance the quality of living for residents and ensure that Victory Apartments remains affordable for years to come.”
The entire portfolio is known as Victory Apartments, which gets its name from a successful campaign to push the state of Illinois to fund its first affordable housing development in the area, and consists of 107 affordable units located close to outdoor recreational areas and within walking distance to public transit and local shops and services.
The rehabilitation was financed with tax-exempt bonds, 4% low-income housing tax credits, Illinois donation tax credits, and a subordinate mortgage from the Illinois Housing Development Authority. The existing Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments contract was renewed for 20 years under the Rental Assistance Demonstration program, which played a key part in adjusting the subsidized rents to levels that can support the renovations.
