TODAY’S DEALS: Raymond James Completes $195M LIHTC Fund
Raymond James completes a construction/rehab LIHTC fund; Greysteel arranges a 100-unit sale in Maryland; and distressed communities to get a $100 million lift from Bank of America, Enterprise and LISC.
St. Petersburg, Fla.—Raymond James Tax Credit Funds has completed the syndication of a $195 million LIHTC fund to finance the construction or rehabilitation of housing projects throughout the country. Raymond James Tax Credit Fund 40 LLC is funding the development of 2,202 units in 42 housing projects across 32 states. Each project will make affordable housing available to low income families and seniors.
“Fund 40 will provide quality housing to thousands of people in need across the country,” says Steve Kropf, president and CEO of RJTCF. “We are committed to being a leader in affordable housing and the positive impact of the Fund 40 projects will benefit their respective communities for years.”
Greysteel arranges the sale of a 100-unit apartment in Maryland
Upper Marlboro, Md.—Investment real estate services firm Greysteel has arranged the sale of Largo Center Apartments, a 100-unit community in the Washington, D.C., submarket of Upper Marlboro, Md. The firm’s multifamily division arranged the sale on behalf of Boston Capital and Humphrey-Stavrou Associates, and secured the buyer, Beachwold Residential. The three-building, affordable community is located within walking distance of the Largo Town Center Metro Station, directly off I-495 and five miles from the Route 50 interchange.
“The transit-oriented location, robust income demographics and positively trending market fundamentals made Largo Center a highly desirable asset gardening interest from private, high net worth investors to institutions and large national companies,” says John Mullen, multifamily director at Greysteel.
Distressed communities to get $100M lift from Bank of America, Enterprise and LISC
Columbia, Md.—The U.S. Department of the Treasury has approved term sheets for $100 million in bonds to a partnership that includes Enterprise Community Loan Fund Inc., the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and Bank of America. These bonds, when issued, will be guaranteed by Treasury and purchased by the Federal Financing Bank under the inaugural round of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Bond Guarantee Program. The CDFI Bond Guarantee Program responds to the scarcity of 15-to-30-year financing for projects that create jobs and eliminate blight in areas with significant poverty.
A Bank of America subsidiary, Trisail Funding Corp., will issue the bonds. LISC and Enterprise will each use $50 million in proceeds to support affordable housing and other commercial development projects.
“Community development has been changing lives in low-income neighborhoods for many years,” Michael Rubinger, LISC president and CEO, says. “But the reality is that financial markets don’t operate efficiently in distressed areas. With this program we can begin to change that—not just because of the important work we’ll be able to support, but because of the performance data we can generate. It will help encourage the private market to expand in places it doesn’t now function.”
For the first time, CDFIs will have a source of capital with which to make true long-term, fixed rate loans. Loans financed through the program must be used to support projects that promote revitalization, community stability and job creation or retention; the provision of basic financial services; affordable housing; businesses that provide jobs for low-income people or are owned by low-income people; or community or economic development in low-income and underserved rural areas.
“Our participation in the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program strengthens Enterprise Community Loan Fund’s ability to provide financing that is otherwise unavailable for local developments such as charter schools, healthcare centers and affordable housing where the permanent loan needed is too small for an efficient and economical agency execution,” says Lori Chatman, president, Enterprise Community Loan Fund.
Enterprise will use the proceeds from the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program for several new products including permanent mortgages of less than $2 million for multifamily rental properties. LISC will finance affordable housing, charter schools, community health centers and other economic development projects.
The CDFI Bond Guarantee Program was enacted through the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 to spur community and economic development in low-income urban and rural areas. Pending Congressional authority, Treasury may guarantee up to $1 billion in bonds in fiscal year 2014. For more on the program, visit www.cdfifund.gov/bond.
