U.S. Bank Provides $55M for Affordable Seniors Housing Project in LA

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor 

U.S. Bank has given a big helping hand in the addition of 165 new units to Los Angeles’ depleted affordable housing market. The bank is providing approximately $55.1 million to Retirement Housing Foundation for the development of the Broadwood Terrace and Las Alturas senior affordable housing communities.

“Affordable housing for seniors is an essential component to the health and vibrancy of urban communities,” Tiena Johnson-Hall, vice president with U.S. Bank Community Lending Division in Los Angeles, and member of RHF’s local advisory committee, told Commercial Property Executive. “We take pride in funding projects that, in addition to creating lively senior living communities, provide resources and services to help maximize quality of life for people in all of life’s stages.”

Groundbreaking for both LEED-certified properties is this month. Broadwood Terrace will carry the address of 5001-5025 South Main St. in South Los Angeles, and offer 88-units for seniors in a five-story building. In the Boyle Heights neighborhood, the five-story Las Alturas will be erected at 3545 East Whittier Blvd., featuring 77 units.  

U.S. Bank is supporting the Broadwood Terrace and Las Alturas projects with $24.9 million in construction debt, as well as approximately $30.2 million of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity through its tax credit investment subsidiary, U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp. Currently, the LIHTC program is the vehicle that creates the nation’s only notable new supply of subsidized rental units, according to a report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. 

In addition to the construction and LIHTC financing, U.S. Bank has committed to making another loan to RHF in the amount of $1 million for working capital.

“Growth in the number of individuals and families opting to rent has created a greater need in the market for affordable housing,” said Johnson-Hall. “Naturally, rental prices have increased as vacancy rates have declined in places like Los Angeles. This trend has had a particularly negative effect on those seniors who are living on a fixed budget, and don’t have as much flexibility in their monthly finances.” 

Broadwood Terrace and Las Alturas will open their doors to residents in late summer or early fall of 2014.  

U.S. Bank is consistently active in assisting to increase affordable housing availability in the U.S., not just for low-income households in general, but for often-forgotten segments of renters in the low-income bracket. Earlier this year, the financial institution came through with funding for the Stout Street Health Center & Renaissance Stout Street Lofts project being developed by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless in Denver. U.S. Bank also closed a $15.5 million financing package for the development of Mercy Housing California’s 40-unit El Monte Veterans Housing community in Los Angeles County.