National Community Development Week NALHFA Member Spotlight
National Community Development Week continues with another NALHFA member spotlight. Below are projects submitted for the Redevelopment Excellence category of the NALHFA Awards program.

The Hunter's Point South development is a transformative, multi-phase, mixed-use project located in the Long Island City section of Queens, NY.  

 

The redevelopment effort for this under-utilized former industrial district development has been divided into two phases which contain a total of seven parcels or 'sites'.   HPS-A and HPS-B have been developed into Hunter's Point South Commons and Hunter's Point South Crossing. These two buildings, with 925 permanently affordable apartments, were constructed during the area's first phase of development and completed in December of 2015 . The first phase also includes roughly 17,000 square feet of new retail space, key infrastructure installations, a new five-acre waterfront park, and a new 1,100-seat school called Hunter's Point Campus.

 

 The park includes a central green, a playground, a waterside promenade and additional recreation space, as well as a 13,000-square-foot pavilion housing comfort stations, concessions, an elevated café plaza, and a maintenance facility for the Department of Parks and Recreation. Sustainability features include a bioswale along the length of the park, extensive planting of native species of grasses and trees, use of environmentally sustainable wood, the remediation of formerly contaminated industrial areas, and the solar orientation of the site and comfort station to optimize passive heating and cooling, and solar energy generation.

The San Francisco Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD) Conversion transferred 3,480 units of distressed public housing units in 28 projects from the SF Housing Authority (SFHA), a federally funded agency, to the stewardship of community-based affordable housing developers.  Through a $2 billion transaction, one of the country's largest, new owners are completing over $700 million in deferred repairs, stabilizing residents' tenancies with professional management and support services, and preserving the units as affordable housing for 99 years.  Eight = affordable housing development teams joined San Francisco's RAD conversion effort and successfully leveraged federal subsidies, producing $331,619,500 in tax-exempt debt and, with an historic pay-in value from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, $815,198,711 in tax credit equity.  The City of San Francisco issued over $1 billion in tax exempt bonds to finance the construction and rehabilitation. HUD's 2012 RAD Program, which converts public housing operating subsidies to rental subsidies, allowing access to the resources of private financial markets, made the transaction possible. 

Underlying the RAD portfolio conversion was the principle of "one deal, 28 executions." Eight developer teams and 28 limited partnerships closed deals in two phases 11 months apart, using the same deal structure, financing terms, and templates. The portfolio was financed by one construction lender (Bank of America Merrill Lynch), two tax credit investors (BAML and Aegon), one permanent lender (Freddie Mac), one Seller Carryback Lender (SF Housing Authority), and one soft lender (City and County of San Francisco). The financial consultant for the portfolio was California Housing Partnership Corporation. 

Piccadilly Square Redevelopment

Washington County Community Development Agency

Piccadilly Square Redevelopment is the reuse of a vacant supper club and former streetcar powerhouse into a 79-unit apartment building affordable to low income seniors.  Piccadilly Square is located in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, a suburb of St. Paul.  In 2012, the City approached the Washington County Community Development Agency (WCCDA) to fulfill a need for affordable senior apartments in the community, a generally but not exclusively affluent area.  The site is highly visible with easy pedestrian access to shops, restaurants, transit, and other amenities but was passed over by the private market due to costs of site clearance, soil remediation, and sealing a 500+ feet well.  The WCCDA co-partnered with Sand Companies, a local developer and design firm, leveraging the experience and expertise of both partners to secure $3.5 million of grants and subordinate loans from local, regional and federal funders.  The $16.8 million dollar project is financed with the combination of private activity bonds backed by Washington County's fully faith and credit pledge with AAA/Aaa ratings and 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits, in addition to the subordinate financing.  The new three-story development contains one and two bedroom units affordable to seniors earning less than 50% and 60% of the area median income (approximately $35,000), underground parking, community room, management and service offices, fitness and craft rooms, and outdoor patio.  A new public plaza creates a sense of place with a way-finding and history-telling kiosk and trail connections.