May 21, 2018

NHT-Enterprise Spring Update: Acquisitions and Awards!

NHT-Enterprise has had an exciting spring thus far!

Channel Square wins ULI Award

In April, the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) presented NHT-Enterprise, along with partners Somerset Development and New Communities Partners, the Excellence in Affordable Housing Award for the preservation of Channel Square Apartments in Southwest D.C.

Channel Square is a 231 unit, mixed-income apartment building that was preserved in cooperation with the tenant association under DC’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA). The community received $16.6 million in renovations, preserving the mixed-income nature of the resident base:

  • 1/3 of units have a preference for households at or below 50% Area Median Income (AMI);
  • 1/3 of units are targeted to households with incomes between 50% - 80% AMI;
  • 1/3 of units are “market-rate” and voluntarily treated as if rent controlled.

The acquisition was financed, in part, by DC’s Department of Housing and Community Development with a $7.4 million Housing Production Trust Fund loan.  The balance of financing was provided by Citi Community Capital, Jonathan Rose Companies, and equity provided by the development partners.

The redevelopment of the property included sustainability upgrades in bathrooms, kitchens, and living areas; a rooftop and carport solar array; a new playground; and other on-site amenities including a resident lounge with full kitchen, fitness center, business center, and community garden.

 

NHT-Enterprise Acquires Savannah Apartments

In April, NHT-Enterprise also acquired Savannah Apartments, a 65-unit garden-style apartment community in Southeast Washington, D.C.

After a for-profit developer entered into a contract with then-owner of the property, the Savannah residents organized to secure their rights under the D.C. Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) to find a development partner to help them ensure the continued affordability of the property. Without development experience or financial resources of their own, the tenant’s association solicited offers from developers, and, after a competitive process, selected NHT-Enterprise in the summer of 2017.

Savannah Apartments is located 1.5 blocks from the Congress Heights Metro station and within walking distance of a major redevelopment known as the St. Elizabethan’s Campus, which includes the construction of a $65 million sports facility for D.C.’s professional NBA and WNBA basketball teams. Immediately following the completion of the sports facility, additional development will begin, including:

  • renovation of several existing historic buildings, yielding 252 mixed-income apartments;
  • construction of 60-100 for-sale townhouses;
  • development of 40,000 square feet of retail space.

Additionally, neighborhood retail is only a .5 mile away. The shopping center includes a full-size grocery store and pharmacy, a bank, sit-down and convenience restaurants, and a D.C. Public Library.

Funding for the acquisition was made possible through the help of the National Housing Trust Community Development Fund (NHTCDF), who assembled a lending consortium including CityFirst Enterprises, Housing Partnership Fund, The Reinvestment Fund, and themselves to provide an acquisition bridge loan of $7.1 million.  Additional proceeds of $500,000 were provided by a small, local foundation, in the form of a grant.  

Future plans for Savannah Apartments include a complete renovation of the units and buildings plus construction of a new community center/leasing office. NHT-Enterprise believes this is an important opportunity, ensuring the preservation of a transit oriented community, near jobs and retail, in a neighborhood that will surely gentrify quickly in the years to come. 

For more information on Channel Square Apartments, Savannah Apartments or NHT-Enterprise’s award-winning properties, please contact Senior Vice President Scott Kline.

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