Partners Bridge Gap Between Affordable and Safe Housing

TIGARD, OR—In underserved communities, affordable housing and health outcomes of residents are inextricably linked. Research shows that poor-quality housing can have a direct negative impact on residents’ health. Today, too many people are forced to make trade-offs between the affordability of housing and the health and safety of housing.

Fannie Mae’s intent is to help residents across the country gain access to healthy affordable housing through initiatives such as the Innovation Challenge. This is a key component of Fannie Mae’s sustainable communities initiative, challenging public, private and nonprofit sector organizations to reimagine affordable housing as the prescription for a healthy life.

“Fannie Mae is committed to increasing access to healthy affordable housing,” said Jeffery Hayward, Fannie Mae’s executive vice president and head of multifamily. “The Innovation Challenge addresses the evolving needs of homebuyers, homeowners and renters where they overlap with health and wellness issues. Access to affordable homes that keep residents safe and healthy is a critical industry issue, and one that requires us to look at how housing and health impact each other in order to find the best solutions.”

The Innovation Challenge, a two-year $10 million commitment aims to support and accelerate the development of promising solutions that serve communities in different ways. One approach to uncovering and exploring new ways to address housing needs is by sourcing new ideas and entering service contracts outside of Fannie Mae and its traditional partners.

“We recognize the value in breaking down silos to work with new partners on issues that are inextricably linked to affordable housing in order to create comprehensive solutions,” said Maria Evans, Fannie Mae’s vice president of sustainable communities. “We are fostering sustainable communities by incubating innovative ideas that directly address our mission to bring affordability and stability to underserved areas and help ensure those residents have access to healthy, affordable, safe places to call home.”

As part of that affordability effort, KeyBank Real Estate Capital recently arranged a $26.6 million Fannie Mae forward commitment permanent loan for the construction of the Fields Apartments, a soon-to-be affordable multifamily property in Tigard, OR. The planned low-income housing tax credits property/LIHTC will consist of five four-story buildings with 264 affordable units and a separate building that will be used as a common area.

Fred Dockweiler of Key’s Commercial Mortgage Group arranged the fixed-rate loan for two-and-a-half years with two six-month extension options. Upon conversion, the permanent loan will have a 15-year term and a 35-year amortization schedule.

Another Fannie Mae forward commitment permanent loan was arranged by KeyBank Real Estate Capital for Willow Creek Crossing Apartments in Hillsboro, OR. The $10.4 million loan will provide construction funds for the affordable multifamily property. The planned LIHTC property will consist of a six-story building with 120 units.

Dockweiler arranged the fixed-rate loan for two years with two six-month extension options. Upon conversion, the permanent loan will have a 15-year term and a 35-year amortization schedule.

“The cities of Tigard and Hillsboro recognize the need for affordable housing in Oregon and have been very supportive of increasing the affordable housing inventory,” Skip Grodahl, principal of DBG Properties, tells GlobeSt.com. “We were very pleased at the breadth of resources KeyBank was able to provide for both Willow Creek Crossing and the Fields Apartments. These included LIHTC equity, construction financing, bond underwriting and permanent debt utilizing the FNMA M.TEB program. In addition, the state of Oregon LIFT program and partnering with Washington County helped to fill the financing gap on both projects.”