Public-Private Partnership Creates Los Angeles-Area Affordable Housing

Renaissance at City Center. Image courtesy of Standard Communities

Using a public-private partnership structure, Standard Communities served as project administrator to help create 150 units of affordable middle-income housing in Carson, Calif., by leading a $78 million transaction that transitioned Renaissance at City Center from market-rate housing to workforce housing in 54 days.

Standard Communities, the affordable housing division of Standard Cos., was part of the public-private partnership that acquired the mixed-use property at 21800 S. Avalon Blvd. in Los Angeles County’s South Bay from an entity affiliated with Benedict Canyon Equities, according to the Commercial Observer. The partnership also included The Community Improvement Agency of the California Statewide Communities Development Authority, Stifel Nicolaus & Co., Faring and the city of Carson.

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The property was built by Thomas Safran & Associates in 2013 as a luxury mixed-use community with 150 apartments and more than 12,000 square feet of retail space. The BCE entity acquired the building in 2016 for $55 million. The property includes premium finishes and amenities including a pool, fitness center, recreation room, movie theater and pet grooming facility.

Geoff Moen, director of West Coast production for Standard Communities, said in a prepared statement that families in the so-called missing middle—households earning between 80 percent and 120 percent of area median income (AMI)—have been denied access to affordable housing as rents increase and strain household finances. 

Creating more workforce housing in a city like Carson means more essential employees like first responders, teachers and healthcare workers can have access to affordable housing and stable neighborhoods close to their jobs, said Jeffrey Jaeger, principal & co-founder of Standard Communities, in prepared remarks.

Standard Communities also noted that public-private partnerships like the one in Carson are part of a strategy supported by California Governor Gavin Newsom and State Treasurer Fiona Ma to create more workforce housing in the state and help address California’s housing crisis.

Recent Affordable Deals

Based in Los Angeles and New York, Standard Cos. has a portfolio of approximately 13,700 apartments, including 9,700 affordable units. Earlier this month, Standard Communities and Stanford Carr Development acquired the last of six affordable rental properties from the state of Hawaii as part of a $223.9 million public-private partnership to rehabilitate the 1,221-unit portfolio and preserve its affordability. 

Standard Communities also purchased a 61-unit affordable senior community in Pasadena, Calif., in November and a 120-unit affordable multifamily property near Charleston, S.C., in October.