Affordable Seniors Housing Opens in Riverside
The 224-unit Vintage at Snowberry Apartment Homes, an affordable seniors housing project in Riverside, has opened fully leased.
By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor
Riverside, Calif.—The 224-unit Vintage at Snowberry Apartment Homes, an affordable seniors housing project in Riverside, Calif., developed by USA Properties Fund, has opened fully leased. The 10-acre gated community, done in a Spanish colonial style, features one- and two-bedroom apartment units.
Each unit features furnished kitchens with energy-efficient appliances, full-size washer/dryer hook-ups and walk-in closets. Common area amenities include a clubhouse, fitness area, pool and spa area, business center, laundry facilities and covered parking.
Irvine-based WNC & Associates Inc. partnered with USA Properties Fund in the financing of the development, which used $9 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). WNC is an investment firm specializing in LIHTC and New Market Tax Credits. Other financing partners included the City of Riverside, Riverside County Department of Mental Health, Wells Fargo Bank and Citi Community Capital.
There remains a dearth of affordable housing options for Riverside County’s large community of senior citizens, notes WNC CEO Will Cooper Jr. That Vintage at Snowberry Apartment Homes was developed and leased up in a rapid 16 months points to the fact that there’s great demand for this kind of housing in the area, he adds.
According to USA Properties Fund, the $32 million development will also provide a positive economic impact to Riverside. Besides the 170 construction jobs the development supported when it was being built, there are 72 ongoing local jobs directly related to Snowberry’s operation. The town, like much of California, is in sore need of jobs. According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, Riverside’s unemployment rate is 12.9 percent.
