This is referred to as “severe cost-burden” by housing analysts. Basic needs for transportation, child care—even food—are often sacrificed just to pay the rent or mortgage. More than half of all renters in the Los Angeles area are paying 30% or more of their income on housing. Overcrowding and problems with substandard housing also plague Los Angeles’ housing supply. There’s no question that the stock of quality, affordable housing needs to increase dramatically. At Century, we continue to develop innovative ways of using our financial resources to increase the number of affordable units in the greater Los Angeles area.

Construction Loans for multifamily and single-family development. Century's construction loans are offered at a competitive price with a streamlined approval process and straightforward documentation.

Some recent Century construction loans include:

Click picture to enlarge	Osage Senior Villas Century provided a $7,000,000 construction loan for a 91-unit affordable senior development in Inglewood, California. Osage Senior Villas, developed by Alliance Property Group, is the first project in Inglewood to take advantage of the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.
Click picture to enlarge	Mountain Court Mountain Court is an infill development providing ownership opportunities for eight moderate- to low-income families. Century provided a $1,280,000 construction loan to Pasadena Neighborhood Housing Services for these Craftsman-style townhomes located in Pasadena, California.

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Predevelopment & Site Acquisition Loans are critical for nonprofit developers, as these upfront costs are difficult to cover with the limited capital often available to nonprofits. These loans allow multifamily developers to compete in a Southern California real estate market that rapidly closes on available properties. Century provides flexibility to nonprofit and for-profit developers in securing sites for development or preservation in advance of assembling the full financing for a project.

Some recent Century predevelopment and site acquisition loans:

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Fuller Lofts Century provided a $1,467,000 acquisition loan for the adaptive reuse of the 78-year-old W.P. Fuller Paint Co. warehouse into 102 condominium lofts, located in Los Angeles. The developer, Livable Places, is setting aside 75% of the for-sale units for low- to moderate-income households. Rendering courtesy of Pugh + Scarpa

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Northwest Gateway Apartments Century provided a $7,000,000 acquisition and predevelopment loan to developer META Housing for the creation of 276 units of mixed-income workforce housing near downtown Los Angeles. Twenty percent of the units will be set aside for households making no more than 50% of area median income. The development is near the Los Angeles Unified School District’s high school sports complex currently under construction. Rendering courtesy of John Cotton FAIA Architects

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Bridge Loans are frequently needed to fund gaps in financing during construction, as many subsidy funds are available only after construction is completed. Century provides financing to bridge this gap for committed, but not funded, permanent financing sources, including public funds and tax credit equity.

Some recent developments utilizing Century bridge loans:

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Villa Ramona Century provided a $700,000 bridge loan for developer Thomas Safran & Associates to begin construction on an intergenerational complex with both family and senior apartments, located in Baldwin Park, California. The development includes transportation to after-school tutoring centers, a computer room with free Internet access, and other cross-generational amenities. Rendering courtesy of Kanner Architects

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Solara Court Senior Apartments A bridge loan of $2,250,000 helped Community Housing Partners and Lennar Affordable Communities develop 132 units of service-enriched affordable senior apartments in Anaheim, California.

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Structured Financing products provide innovative solutions, including “mezzanine” debt and loan guarantees and complex loans that close short- and medium-term funding gaps.

Some recent structured financing examples:

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The Piedmont Century provided META Housing with a $1,000,000 loan to fund reserves required by HUD under its 221(d)(4) senior construction mortgage loan. The loan is structured to be repaid as these reserves are released after completion and stabilization. This mixed-income 198-unit development in North Hollywood, California, features a large two-story clubhouse, a small movie theater, computer lab, swimming pool, full-service day spa, and an onsite senior wellness program featuring educational classes, arts programs, health and fitness classes, transportation, and recreational and intergenerational activities.

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River Run Senior Apartments Century provided a $1,000,000 tax-exempt subordinate bond credit enhancement and a $1,300,000 construction loan earn-out guarantee for the construction of 360 units of service-enriched affordable senior apartments in Corona, California. Rendering courtesy of Kay F. Collins Planning & Design

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Subordinate Bond Credit Enhancements are a source of longer term low-cost financing that leverages Century’s financial standing with private capital. The credit enhancement loans directly access the capital markets and provide low-cost subordinate financing for up to 15 years.

Some or examples of recent credit enhancements:

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Santee Court Century provided a $3,000,000 tax-exempt subordinate bond credit enhancement to MJW Investments for Phase I of Santee Court, the largest adaptive reuse development in Los Angeles. This first phase has resulted in 165 units of housing designed to meet the needs of downtown’s working families. Once completed, this conversion of nine Fashion District warehouses will result in a total of 465 apartments. This mixed-income development will also include market-rate condominiums. Rendering courtesy of Lehrer Architects

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Claremont Village Apartments Originally a HUD-financed affordable development built in 1971, Century provided a $1,100,000 loan to preserve the affordability of these 150 units in Claremont, California. Displacement of low-income tenants was avoided and additional services, such as an on-site recreation center for resident children, were made possible by this loan.

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For more information on these and other lending products, please contact Stephen Peelor, Senior Vice President of Lending, at (310) 642-2034 or e-mail speelor (at) centuryhousing.org.

Century Community Development, Inc. (CCDI), a community development financial institution (CDFI), was established in 2002 to expand Century’s capital base for financing affordable rental housing.

In 2005, CCDI created The CCD Investment Fund, a $15 million revolving loan fund which offers innovative predevelopment, site acquisition, and bridge loans to affordable housing developers throughout Southern California. CCDI’s underwriting flexibility and rapid response allow developers to meet the market demands of high land costs and short closing times. As land costs continue to rise and public subsidy dollars become more scarce, CCDI is essential in helping developers get more affordable housing off the ground.

CCDI is capitalized by more than a dozen small local banks and thrifts, which receive CRA credit, a competitive financial return on their investment, and the opportunity to participate in affordable housing investment. A key participant in the fund is Mellon 1st Business Bank, who assisted us in presenting the fund to many of the participating institutions.

CCDI also received a $1 million investment from The Calvert Social Investment Foundation. Since 1990, Calvert has provided more than $45 million in community development through Calvert Community Notes through which individuals and institutions can safely and conveniently invest into nonprofit intermediaries.

For more information CCDI, please contact Aaron Wooler , Vice President of Financial Products, at (310) 642-2019 or e-mail awooler (at) centuryhousing.org.

The Century Community Lending Company (CCLC) serves as a “one-stop shop” for local real estate developers and owners, offering construction loans to create and improve housing that is affordable to working families. CCLC finances acquisition/rehab and new construction of small rental developments and for-sale housing, to meet our objective of revitalizing communities and creating wealth throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

We specialize in financing acquisition/rehab and new construction of small (3 to 30 units) apartment buildings, and the construction of infill for-sale developments in low- and moderate-income areas, where capital investment has fallen far short of demand and where working families need more and better affordable housing options. As the population of the Los Angeles metropolitan area grows—by nearly 2 million more residents in the next 15 years—CCLC will help to create and improve housing by providing financing that is not available to the neighborhood developers and entrepreneurs that are essential to community revitalization.

CCLC uses three primary building blocks to carry out its mission of creating housing for working families:

1. We encourage neighborhood entrepreneurs to become developers, creating wealth that remains in their communities.
2. Our innovative One-Stop Shop makes the process of getting both construction and permanent financing much easier for a less-experienced developer.
3. We provide technical assistance to borrowers to get them through the development process, from design through construction to lease-up, to ensure the success of their developments.

For more information CCLC, please contact Aaron Wooler, Vice President of Financial Products, at (310) 642-2019, e-mail awooler (at) centuryhousing.org, or visit the website at www.centurycommunitylending.org.