Two prominent California affordable housing developers joined forces to build the new Brookwood Terrace Family Apartments in San Jose, Calif.
The 84-unit development is the first collaboration between ROEM Corp., a leading for-profit builder, and Eden Housing, a major nonprofit developer. The two also have teamed on the recently opened 92-unit Orvieto Family Apartments in San Jose and are planning a third development in nearby Mountain View.
The firms bring rich experience and complementary skills to each deal, says Jonathan Emami, ROEM vice president.
At Brookwood Terrace, the result is a LEED-Gold development serving households with incomes ranging from 30 percent to 50 percent of the area median income.
“We tried to stretch in every aspect we could,” Emami says, citing the project’s many green building efforts, starting with transforming an under-utilized infill site into a high-density development and recycling roughly 75 percent of the construction waste.
The project is built to exceed state building standards by 17 percent. Conserving water was also a goal of the project, so high-efficient water fixtures were installed inside. Outside, Brookwood Terrace has an irrigation system and landscape design that minimizes water waste.
Designed by KTGY Group, Inc., Brookwood Terrace consists of three stories above a subterranean parking garage. The team worked to keep the height of the project low so it would fit in with the surrounding one- and two-story townhomes and single-family homes.
Brookwood Terrace’s opening is just one part of a big year for Santa Clara, Calif.-based ROEM, which has broken ground on seven affordable housing projects with about 700 units this year.
The $24.9 million project also stands out because the financing was assembled at a time when California was losing a key financing source with the elimination of hundreds of local redevelopment agencies. San Jose, which has had one of the most robust housing production programs in the region, came through during this difficult time with a key loan, says Linda Mandolini, executive director of Eden Housing.
The challenge will be to continue building projects like Brookwood Terrace and Orvieto Family without redevelopment funds, she says.
Brookwood Terrace is financed with 4 percent low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) and tax-exempt bonds. JPMorgan Chase served as a construction lender with the bonds, and Citi Community Capital arranged the permanent financing. JPMorgan was the LIHTC investor, with Hudson Housing Capital serving as the syndicator. The city of San Jose provided a loan of up to $8 million, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco also provided funding. ¦
