Boyle Heights Youth Program to Expand
June 17, 2011—A $930,500 construction loan to Progress Place I and II, LP will provide financing to rehabilitate 8 apartments in 2 buildings in Boyle Heights into supportive housing for at-risk youth. The developer is Jovenes, a social service provider on the Eastside with a 20-year track record of helping homeless and at-risk youth, especially those in the difficult transition from youth-oriented to adult-oriented programs, such as exiting the foster care system. The development at Progress Place, a cul-de-sac street, will provide a continuum of care environment similar to Century Villages at Cabrillo (though on a much smaller scale), as Jovenes already owns two other buildings and runs programs on the street.
Century has some history with this development: we provided a $742,000 acquisition loan to Jovenes to acquire these properties in 2007. Since repaying that loan in 2008, Jovenes has worked mightily and successfully to secure $3.6 million in permanent financing from the LA County Housing Authority, HCD, and the LA County Dept of Mental Health for the development.
Compton Developer Receives Funding for Rehabilitation
June 10, 2011—Century closed a $1,000,000 line of credit to ANR Compton NSP, LLC, to acquire and rehab foreclosed homes in Compton. ANR Industries, a general contractor, has been working with several cities to deploy federal funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program in neighborhoods especially hard-hit by foreclosures in the past few years. ANR and Century are already working together in Santa Ana, with Century providing a $2,000,000 credit line to fund acquisitions along with funds from the City of Santa Ana, and with this new loan closing, ANR closed on the first three homes in Compton. The NSP program requires that the homes are resold to moderate-income families, with some or all of the NSP funds remaining invested to lower the purchase price for the new owners. Santa Ana has been one of the most successful cities with their NSP funds, and we expect Compton will do well, with a quality partner like ANR.
Market Park to Stay Affordable
June 10, 2011—A $3,750,000 Century acquisition loan to Market Park Partners, LP will purchase Market Park Apartments, 50 apartments for very-low income families in Inglewood. The property, located on North Market Street, will be recapitalized with tax exempt bonds and 4% tax credits and rehabilitated inside and out, starting in about six months. The developer, Vitus Group, is based in Seattle and owns more than 5,000 apartments in 13 states. The property is at-risk of losing its Section 8 rental subsidy, so the new owner will commit to keeping the property affordable for 55 additional years and will take on a 20 year Section 8 contract with HUD. This was Century’s first loan to Vitus Group (fka Pacific Housing Advisors).
Congratulations to Skid Row Housing!
May 20, 2011—We are happy to report that New Carver Apartments, the visually striking downtown building developed by Skid Row Housing, has won the 2011 American Institute of Architects / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary's Award for Excellence in Affordable Housing Design. The New Carver Apartments and the City of Los Angeles were also awarded the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Door Knocker Award for outstanding work in producing affordable housing. Century Housing invested $3.62 million at the earliest stage to build these 102 apartments for formerly homeless men and women. Monument Magazine recently profiled the development—you can learn more about the development, it’s transformative effect on the community, and Skid Row Housing by visiting their site at skidrow.org.
Oxnard Gains Eight Affordable Homes
May 16, 2011—Century’s $760,000 acquisition loan to 110 North D Street, LLC, will launch the development of eight affordable apartments for emancipated youth in Oxnard. The developer, Many Mansions, is the main affordable housing creator for special needs populations in Ventura County, and young adults who age out of the foster care system are often very vulnerable and need assistance to get their lives on track. This development, like so many for special-needs residents, has a large menu of funders, including the Prop 63 Mental Health Services Housing Program, HUD's Shelter+Care, Homeless Youth funding from HCD, HOME funds from the City of Oxnard, and an AHP loan from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. This was Century's second loan to Many Mansions.
Huntington Concord Saves 162 Affordable Homes
May 10, 2011—Century's $9,000,000 acquisition loan to Huntington Concord Partners, LP, will help preserve 162 affordable apartments for very-low income seniors in Huntington Park. The developer, LOMCO, has been the property manager since it opened 20 years ago. This was Century's second deal with LOMCO, following a $12.5 million loan in 2008 for a similar development in Huntington Beach. LOMCO's day-to-day operations are managed by Kent Davis, a Century alum.
Century Housing: Newest Member of FHLBank San Francisco
April 28, 2011—Century Housing announced today that it has been approved as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. Century, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), is the FHLBank’s first nonprofit, nondepository CDFI member in California. Membership offers Century access to innovative, competitively priced products and a variety of low-cost funding solutions. "Century Housing and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco share mutual goals of extending affordable housing and economic development financing to underserved communities where our members do business,” said Dean Schultz, President and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. Read the full press release
Long Beach Senior Arts Colony Breaks Ground
April 20, 2011—Century Housing proudly joined Mayor Bob Foster and the Long Beach Housing Development Company in breaking ground on Long Beach Senior Arts Colony, a 200 unit senior residential community designed for citizens 55 years and above and earning 30%-60% of the Area Median Income. The Colony will offer on-site amenities such as community rooms, a theater, art rooms, community gardens, a residential library, BBQ areas and a spa, and was described as an “innovative approach to senior residential living which will support and encourage our seniors to live a healthy, active and independent lifestyle,” by Councilmember Robert Garcia. The project benefitted from a $9,700,000 acquisition loan provided by Century Housing to Meta Housing, one of Southern California's most experienced and trusted developers of affordable housing.
San Fernando Community Housing Brought by Aszkenazy
April 4, 2011—We are proud to announce Century’s $650,000 predevelopment loan to Aszkenazy Development for San Fernando Community Housing, 97 apartments for low-income families, including special needs households, to be developed in the City of San Fernando. This is Century’s second loan using the LA County Housing Innovation Fund (LACHIF), and it required a healthy dose of creative action, along with the hard work of Century loan officers and staff determined to close the loan within the short time frame (about a month) required by Aszkenazy Development and the LA County staff.
Carson Family Residences
March 30, 2011—Affirmed Housing Group has received a $268,000 Century Acquisition Loan to purchase one of several lots Affirmed and the City of Carson have assembled to develop 40 apartments for low-income families. This is Century's second loan to Affirmed, a major affordable housing developer based in San Diego.
Abode Communities Breaks Ground on Hudson Oaks
March 21, 2011—Thanks in part to a $3,700,000 acquisition loan from Century Housing and the first loan made by the LA County Housing Innovation Fund (LACHIF), Abode Communities broke ground on a new affordable senior housing community in Northwest Pasadena. The 45-unit development will replace a vacant, blighted building damaged by fire in 2005, and provide much-needed affordable apartments for very low-income seniors with incomes between $17,400 to $19,800. As stated by Vice Mayor Victor Gordo, Council Member District 5, “There are many reasons to celebrate the project today. Besides providing affordable housing for seniors, it is also a neighborhood revitalization project.”
Read the entire Pasadena Journal release here.
Download Century's 2010 Annual Report
Century Housing’s 2010 Annual Report offers a look into the highlights of the past year and important developments from years past. Presented in calendar format, the Annual Report contains photographs of twelve Century projects, including Del Sol Apartments, Century’s very first investment in San Diego. Century expanded farther out of Southern California in 2010, with the closing of a $2.1 million loan for a 74-apartment development in Winters, near Sacramento. Two of Century’s highlight investments in South Los Angeles put almost $8 million into two projects in South Los Angeles, which resulted in nearly $60 million in additional investment in the community and provided 180 apartments for very-low income families and seniors as well as a new grocery store. In another 2010 highlight, Century partnered with Los Angeles County, the Corporation for Supportive Housing, and the Low Income Investment Fund to create the Los Angeles County Housing Innovation Fund, which closed its first loan in January. Despite a slow environment for the affordable housing industry in 2010, Century continued to invest in affordable housing and looks forward to even bigger and better things in 2011.
Download the report
Boyle Hotel Renovation
East Los Angeles Community Corporation held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $24.6 million renovation of the historic Boyle Hotel on December 9th. Also known as the Mariachi Hotel for its role in housing mariachi players and their families, the Boyle Hotel is adjacent to the famous Mariachi Plaza and the new Eastside Gold Line station. Built in 1899, the historic hotel will be redeveloped into 20 affordable apartments, with an additional 31 apartments and parking built immediately to the east of the Hotel along 1st Street. The reborn Boyle Hotel will also provide new commercial space to add to the burgeoning Arts District along First Street, as noted by Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar in his remarks at the groundbreaking.
Century provided ELACC with more than $4.4 million to purchase the hotel and adjacent properties in 2006 and 2007 when another developer had planned to acquire and demolish the historic building. The Boyle Hotel is a gateway to the Boyle Heights community and a symbol of the impact of Mexican immigrants. This development will balance the Boyle Heights neighborhood’s need for new affordable homes and commercial development with the need to respect and preserve its history.
CDFI Grant
We are very pleased to report that on October 14, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Donna J. Gambrell, the Director of the US Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund, announced that Century Housing was awarded $5,000,000 from the $80 million Capital Magnet Fund, to expand the geographic reach of Century’s lending programs. This grant was the result of a highly competitive application process by CDFI’s and qualified nonprofit housing organizations located throughout the United States. Century was one of only 23 awardees in the country out of 230 applicants. Century is extremely excited about the additional affordable homes we will be able to finance and the families we will be able to help throughout California thanks to this grant.
NEWS: A Rescue for Affordable Housing
New York Times opinion piece discussing new legislation designed to boost affordable housing development.
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Developments
Construction of new affordable homes is underway in San Diego, thanks in part to Century’s accelerated $1,850,000 predevelopment loan closed on June 15th. In a joint venture between Phoenix Realty Partners and Palm Desert Development Company, a 4.2 acre vacant site will become Mesa Commons, a community of 87 homes for low-income residents.
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