Evergreen Real Estate Grows Affordable Housing Management Portfolio

Martin Avenue Apartments

Evergreen Real Estate Group has expanded its management portfolio with the addition of nine affordable housing communities in four states, totaling 1,071 units in a mix of affordable housing for families, seniors and people with disabilities. Located in Illinois, Kansas, Ohio and Wisconsin, the communities bring Evergreen’s management portfolio to more than 8,500 units across the United States.

“Evergreen is committed to creating, preserving and managing quality affordable housing that offers those facing financial hardship a good, safe place to live and call home,” Steve Rappin, president of Chicago-based Evergreen Real Estate Group, said in a prepared statement. “The need and demand for affordable housing continues to grow, and our broad range of experience allows us to bring creative solutions and best-in-class services to our residents, third-party owners, housing agency partners and investors.”

As property manager, Evergreen will oversee site-level operations, and in some communities, plans to improve and upgrade the buildings using low-income housing tax credits and other subsidies.

The new management assignments are:

• Brookhaven Apartments, a 181-unit affordable housing community in Gurnee, Ill.
• Carter Manor Apartments, a 270-unit affordable community for seniors and disabled individuals in Cleveland, Ohio
• Johnstown Towers, a 91-unit affordable housing community in Salina, Kan.
• Oakdale Plaza Apartments, a 38-unit affordable housing community in Salina, Kan.
• Legacy Lofts, a 64-unit mixed-income housing community in Milwaukee, Wis.
• The Martha Washington Apartments, a 104-unit affordable senior community in Chicago
• Martin Avenue Apartments, a 122-unit affordable senior community in Naperville, Ill.
• Neosho Plaza Apartments, a 33-unit affordable housing community in Council Grove, Kan.
• Neilan Park Apartments, a 168-unit affordable housing community in Hamilton, Ohio

Evergreen’s Chicago Developments

Evergreen Real Estate Group, founded in 1999, is a fully integrated multifamily company that develops, acquires and manages affordable and market-rate apartment communities for seniors and families in 10 states.

Early last year, Evergreen—which develops, acquires and manages affordable and market-rate apartment communities for seniors and families in 10 states—teamed with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago Housing Authority and Chicago Public Library to develop two new apartment communities and two public library branches. Each housing property offers 44 senior units, 30 public housing units and 14 affordable residences and was planned for the Irving Park and West Ridge neighborhoods along with library branches.

In June 2016, Evergreen preserved two affordable senior housing communities in the Rogers Park neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side for 85 low-income senior households with yearlong renovations projects. The two properties, a 45-unit building and a 40-unit building, were constructed more than 80 years ago and hadn’t been updated since completion. Evergreen secured a 20-year extension of the properties’ Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contract to maintain the residences’ affordability through 2036.

In September, Rappin told Multi-Housing News that the biggest financing challenges in creating affordable senior housing were underwriting construction costs and real estate taxes. He also noted that so-called “soft” funds (grants and loans) that used to be available for affordable housing development have become scarce.

Image courtesy of Evergreen Real Estate Group