WNC Closes Low-Income Housing Fund

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

WNC has closed WNC Institutional Tax Credit Fund 39 L.P., a $125 million institutional low-income housing tax credit fund of six investors, which will acquire 25 properties nationwide.

“WNC was founded in 1971 with the purpose of helping to provide safe, decent, affordable housing for those less fortunate,” Michael Gaber,  executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Irvine, Calif.-based firm, told Commercial Property Executive. “The closing of this fund allows us to expand upon that mission by helping to create and/or preserve more than 1,680 units of affordable housing.”

WNC Corp. 39 comprises a variety of affordable housing communities, including 15 family, 9 senior and 1 senior/family mix. Combined, they total 1,684 affordable housing units 12 states: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Washington.

The properties acquired collectively house thousands of people who could not otherwise afford to live in apartments.

“WNC spends the better part of a year putting together a fund of this magnitude with all of our partners. We work extensively with developers, investors, lenders and local government agencies to assemble a fund that is of interest to all of our partners,” Gaber noted. “With the downturn in the economy since 2008, the decrease in homeownership and the corresponding increase in the demand for affordable housing, this fund closing couldn’t come at a better time for those in need.”

The 25 properties will include a combination of new construction and substantially rehabilitated units, and the properties that are scheduled for rehabilitation will continue WNC’s efforts to preserve and maintain the nation’s low-income housing supply.

The fund is in keeping with the company’s mission of providing affordable, safe and clean residences, Gaber explained.

“This value was instilled upon us from the beginning when Will Cooper, Sr. first helped to create affordable housing in Southern California,” he said. “The properties are all equally important for various reasons, but all share the common theme of housing those less fortunate. While located in states as diverse as Alaska to California to Texas to New Jersey, all have an overwhelming need for affordable housing.”

WNC Corp. 39 is the second WNC-sponsored LIHTC fund to close in 2014, representing a total equity raise of $185 million.