n MIDWEST
CHA mixed-income begins construction
CHICAGO The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) broke ground on the first new mixed-income development along the State Street Corridor since the authority’s sweeping Plan for Transformation began in 1999.
The $104 million Park Boulevard will comprise 311 units, including 100 for CHA residents, 72 for-sale units for working families and 139 market-rate homes.
Financing includes $78 million in private funds for the affordable and market-rate units; and $26 million in CHA capital funds, and equity from low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) and state donation tax credits for the CHA units. Approximately $9 million in tax increment financing will be used for infrastructure and other site improvements.
CHA plans to build more than 1,300 units in and around the Stateway Gardens area, with about one-third public housing and the rest affordable and market-rate. The plan also includes 17,000 square feet of retail and commercial development.
Affordable green housing initiative launched
COLUMBUS, OHIO The Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) and the Ohio Department of Development’s Office of Energy Efficiency are partnering with Enterprise to finance 200 affordable homes in the state this year that promote health, conserve energy and natural resources, and provide easy access to jobs, schools and services.
Ohio Green Communities, the new collaborative, will invest up to $25 million in LIHTC equity, $400,000 in grants and $15,000 in technical assistance.
This is part of the national Green Communities initiative launched by Enterprise and the National Resources Defense Council, a five-year, $555 million commitment to build more than 8,500 units of green affordable housing.
Ohio Green Communities will select up to four projects for funding in 2006.
n NORTHEAST
Housing nonprofits join forces
Rochester, N.Y.Rural Opportunities, Inc., a regional community development organization, and Housing Opportunities, Inc., a local affordable housing developer, have merged to create a single organization with a portfolio of more than 2,200 rental units in 48 properties and assets of more than $112 million.
This will increase efficiency and provide major cost savings in scattered-site property management, according to ROI Management Services, the combined entity.
n SOUTH CENTRAL
$9.8 million released for hurricane relief
austinThe Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) plans to allocate $9.8 million to help meet the housing needs of East and Southeast Texans whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Rita.
The funds, which will help residents repair or replace homes damaged by the September storm, will be distributed by cities, counties and nonprofits. TDHCA will place an emphasis on single-family home repair, including a self-help construction component, but may also include possible rental assistance.
TDHCA estimates that more than 30,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and another 4,500 apartment units sustained severe damage.
n SOUTHEAST
RHA partners with Boston Capital
atlanta RHA/Housing, Inc., formed its second partnership with Boston Capital for the development of the new 168-unit Constitution Avenue Apartments.
The project will be set aside for families earning no more than 60% of area media income (AMI), and will feature two- and three-bedroom garden-style units. Twelve units will be reserved for special-needs tenants; four will be set aside for visually or hearing-impaired tenants.
Boston Capital provided $8.5 million in LIHTC equity for the $17.1 million development. Construction is expected to be completed in January 2007.
AHC acquires condos for affordable housing
arlington, va. AHC, Inc.,purchased 98 condos at Hollybrooke II, its first acquisition in Fairfax County. Its management company, AHC Management, LLC, will manage these units, as well as 50 units owned by an investor and the common areas for the entire 249-unit Hollybrooke Condominium Association.
The $21 million acquisition was financed with a $10.5 million tax-exempt bond issued by the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority; $3.4 million from the Fairfax County Penny for Affordable Housing Fund; $5 million from Apollo Housing Capital as LIHTC equity; and $500,000 in equity investment from AHC.
n WEST
HCD awards rural and small communities
sacramento, calif.The state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has awarded $67.8 million in HOME funding to provide housing opportunities for 1,300 lower income residents in rural and small communities.
HCD awards these funds to cities, counties and nonprofits that do not receive HOME funds directly from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. At least half of the funds must be awarded to rural applicants.
The agency also awarded more than $4.2 million in nine communities to remove regulatory barriers and increase homeownership. The awards were funded by Prop. 46, a housing bond approved by voters in 2002.
DASH preserves affordable housing
redmond, wash.The rehabilitation of Summerwood Apartments here has begun thanks to Downtown Action to Save Housing (DASH), a local nonprofit developer.
A Federal Housing Administration construction loan from Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. helped finance DASH’s two-year effort to preserve Summerwood as affordable housing. The new loan refinances a $14 million interim loan, a $4.3 million loan originated through Prudential’s Preservation Loan Fund and a $400,000 loan from Enterprise Community Investment, Inc., used to acquire the property in 2004.
DASH is converting the 190 apartments into affordable housing for residents earning between $17,000 and $50,000. The project will also offer three- and four-bedroom units in a market where such units don’t exist, according to Prudential. Forty-eight of the units will also be transformed into condos for households earning up to 80% of AMI.
DASH and Enterprise plan on spending $25,000 to renovate each apartment unit, which includes retrofitting several units for residents with severe developmental disabilities.
Funding partners included Enterprise, which provided LIHTC equity; the Arch Coalition, a consortium of suburban cities; King County’s housing finance program; and the Washington State Housing Trust Fund. Banner Bank provided additional financing for the condos.n
Park Boulevard will include 311 units.
