LA Agency Issues $220M Social Bond to Fund Affordable Housing
The initiative will help fill financing gaps to move stalled and shovel-ready projects into construction.
The Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency has issued its first social bond, which will unleash $220 million in capital to help create 1,530 units of new affordable housing for more than 4,000 people.
LACAHSA will assist projects that secured Low Income Housing Tax Credits but face funding gaps due to credit pricing, interest rates and construction costs. LACAHSA will also prioritize non-LIHTC developments that qualify for tax-exempt bonds.
The proceeds from the social bond will support more than 20 affordable developments across Los Angeles County, including projects in Long Beach, San Diego, the San Gabriel Valley and Inglewood, Calif. The projects include senior and family housing, as well as apartments for people who have experienced homelessness.
The independent agency was created by the state of California to prevent homelessness and make housing more affordable throughout Los Angeles County. The $220 million will help fill financing gaps to move stalled and shovel-ready projects into construction. The social bond received an “AA” rating from Fitch Ratings, indicating a very high credit quality.
The agency is funded through Measure A, a half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2024. Measure A is expected to generate more than $1 billion annually.
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One of the projects that will receive funding from the social bond is Sankofa Place at Centinela, a 121-unit development in Inglewood designated for residents earning between 30 to 80 percent of the area median income. With groundbreaking set for late October, it will be the first LACAHSA-financed housing to begin development.
The project, developed by Venice Community Housing and the Social Justice Learning Institute, will have a new 20,000-square-foot headquarters at the site. There will be a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units spanning two buildings at 400 Centinela Ave.
What the earlier funding accomplished
In April, LACAHSA authorized its first development funding round and approved $102 million in financing for 10 income-restricted projects with a total of 566 units across the Los Angeles metro. Projects receiving subsidies include 19200 Harborgate, a 122-unit adaptive reuse project in Torrance, Calif. Bold Communities is converting a former extended-stay hotel into permanent affordable housing. The developer is also converting a similar property into 104 units of housing at 24940 Pico Canyon Road in Stevenson Ranch, Calif.
Other projects funded in that first round include Casa Del Mariachi, a 90-unit ground-up project in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles by Coalition for Responsible Community Development and Yolanda Project, an 80-unit development in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Reseda built by New Economics for Women.
