Hunt Capital Partners, CRP Affordable Housing and Community Development LLC, and CRP’s affiliate Castellan Holdings LLC have closed a $5.6 million low-income housing tax credit equity financing for St. Stephen’s Retirement Center in San Diego, California. The tax credit equity will be used to renovate 60 affordable housing units for seniors and convert them from Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contracts (PRAC) to Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) contracts. This transaction was the first development in California and the fifth in the United States to perform this conversion under the Second Component of the Rental Assistance Demonstration program.
Originally built in 1993, St. Stephen’s Retirement Center is a four-story apartment building. With this financing, St. Stephen’s will now offer 15 studio and 44 one-bedroom newly updated units featuring accessibility upgrades. Property exterior and site improvements will also be made. According to Cause IQ, St. Stephen’s revenues were around $580,000 and expenses were close to $720,000 in 2019.
The total development cost for the project is $18.4 million, or $306,600 per unit, and will be financed with 4% LIHTC equity, tax-exempt bonds and a seller loan. Ironcore Construction and Hedenkamp Architecture are working on the project, and Hallmark Asset Management is staying as the manager. Nixon Peabody LLP advised on the transaction.
