Meta Housing Corporation Completes Hollywood TOD

By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer

Hollywood, Calif.—The Metro @ Hollywood, a $43.8 million transit-oriented mixed-use development featuring 120 affordable senior apartments and 5,500 square feet of ground floor retail, is now complete. Meta Housing Corporation is the developer of the property.

Available to those ages 55 and up, The Metro @ Hollywood features one- and two-bedroom apartments. Design features were chosen to promote engagement and a sense of community among residents. They include a two-story clubhouse with generously sized windows that open into an outdoor center courtyard, creating a large, inviting space encouraging neighbors to interact.

All Meta Housing Corporation properties embrace the philosophy of interactivity. Toward that end, the developer will offer life-enhancing services and programs at no charge to all residents of The Metro @ Hollywood.

This integrated program of arts and wellness classes taught by college-level instructors will be available at no charge to all residents through Meta Housing Corporation’s long-standing non-profit partner, EngAGE.

Additional amenities of The Metro @ Hollywood include an exercise room, library, art studio, media room, large community room and two outdoor decks, one of them featuring a panorama that includes Griffith Observatory.

The development benefited from optimal timing and an excellent location.

“The property became available as the result of a failed condominium project,” Tim Soule, senior project manager for Los Angeles-based Meta Housing Corporation, tells MHN. “The condo market crashed, and the equity investor involved in that project approached us and asked, ‘Can you structure a deal to develop this as an affordable housing development?’”

At the same time, a noteworthy turn of events was taking place at the state level. “The State of California was rolling out a loan program for developers to develop near mass transit lines,” Soule says. “This is about 200 yards from the Hollywood and Western Metro Red Line. This is a pedestrian-friendly area, on a principal transit corridor for buses, and it‘s also within walking distance of Griffith Park.”

The development received support from the State of California’s Department of Housing and Community Development, the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Housing Department. Citibank provided construction financing, and California Community Reinvestment Corporation provided permanent financing. The project’s equity investor, Redstone Equity Partners, purchased the low-income housing tax credits, which provided equity for the development.

Once Meta Housing Corporation was able to win the financing from the state and city, there were few challenges apart from winnowing a wait list of more than 4,400 applicants for the 120 apartments, Soule says. “We are still fielding letters of interest for the retail component,” he adds.

In addition to providing a welcoming place for older adults to live and shop, Metro @ Hollywood should serve another purpose as well.

Says Soule: “It’s a catalyst for additional development in this area.”