Norris Realty Advisors has now valued more than 80 charter and private schools over the past decade.  Charter schools have changed dramatically throughout the nation, not only in number but also with financing structure and a wide array of locations and settings.  

According to the California Department of Education, there are approximately 1,230 charter schools in California that currently serve more than 580,000 students.  In Los Angeles alone there are 359 charter schools, or approximately 29% of the State's total.

Along with the growth in the number of schools, financing is changing.  In the early days of charters the schools would get loans from community banks and lending organizations such as the Low Income Investment Fund, LISC, or New York based New Generation Fund.  Now charters are moving to more traditional bond financing, particularly with larger charter organizations.

In addition, with more dense urban centers, charters have had to get creative in finding spaces to rent or own.  Our firm recently consulted on a former urban infill indoor shopping mall, a mall that was previously an auto dealership.  Soon, this structure will be the home of two new charters.  For a number of years charters would find large warehouses and convert them to school use - but now that industrial space is in high demand and often being converted to creative office in the urban core, charter developers must get creative.  

In the San Francisco Bay Area, charters have to deal with sky high rental rates and land prices that are limiting their options. We have also valued a former classic car dealership that will soon be converted to charter use.  We find this a wonderfully hopeful redevelopment plan for a tired out industrial use.

With Proposition 51 on the ballot Californians are being asked to approve $9 billion in school funding, $1 billion of which is earmarked for charter and vocational schools.  In our view, the future is bright for charter schools.

The IES Coalition gathered for its first meeting at the United Nations in New York, October 2014.  T he group agreed that in many parts of the worl d,  there  is a real and perceived problem with an inconsistent app roach to ethics in real estate which must be  a ddressed.

 

Members of the Team at Norris Realty Advisors attended the August StimULI Breakfast series, where the topic was the Homelessness Crisis in Los Angeles.  Panelists included Alisa Orduna, Homeless Policy Director at the Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti, Brian D'Andrea, Senior Vice President of Housing at Century Housing, and Mike Alvidrez, Chief Executive Officer at Skid Row Housing Trust.

Panelists agreed that the current annual cost of $20,000 necessary for public costs of each homeless individual can be avoided through proper affordable housing arrangements. It was also expressed that the permanent solution is to shift the development focus from transitional housing to permanent housing. Mr. D'Andrea shared the elements that improved the overall issues with homelessness in the City of Long Beach: a contained geographic area, self-sustainable funding, and concentration on specific areas within the city.

Ms. Orduna believes that one main problem is landlords' unwillingness to accept homeless applicants, including the 2,000 holders of Section 8 (Housing Choice) vouchers. Mr. Alvidrez believes that the lack of affordable housing units is the a core problem. 

Some concerns regarding the proposed $138 million "solution" include the source of funding being dependent on the November ballot (where $1.2 billion dollars will be allocated for low-income housing) and the impacts of another important and controversial November ballot initiative, Build Better LA. 

It was resolved by most in attendance that homelessness is something each citizen needs to be concerned about, and that working together, public and private agencies are beginning the process of making a difference.