Affordable Housing

Having worked on hundreds of affordable housing projects, we understand the complex issues these projects pose. Our team focuses on important issues and develops creative and practical solutions to keep projects moving forward.

Developing affordable housing takes vision, dedication, money, and expertise. Our Affordable Housing team combines deep technical knowledge of housing programs with real-life experience in development and finance to deliver creative and practical solutions to tax and regulatory roadblocks. We represent owners, developers, and lenders—for-profit, nonprofit, public, tribal, and housing authorities—in the development and financing of a wide variety of affordable housing, multi-family housing, and community development projects. Our team’s extensive experience in the areas of real estate, tax, corporate, finance, land use, and construction helps facilitate projects across the country.

Contacts

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Experience

• Represented the Bellingham Housing Authority in a LIHTC project that will add approximately 180 new rental units, together with commercial space to serve as the Authority’s new offices. This project includes 9% tax credits, 4% tax credits, and tax-exempt bond financing, as well as additional public funding.
• Assisted Chrisman Development with the financing of a new affordable multifamily housing project in Pendleton, Oregon. Financing included 4% low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt and taxable bonds, and a grant from the State of Oregon. Project is intended to replace housing lost in a flood.
• Represented a low-income housing provider on the acquisition and financing of a fully furnished, 94-room hotel that will be converted into permanent affordable housing.
• Represented a low-income housing provider on the acquisition and financing of a newly constructed, 76-unit apartment building, initially intended for market-rate housing.
• Represented a developer in the financing of vertically stacked 4%-9% LIHTC combo projects that will provide more than 260 units of affordable housing and commercial space, which is part of a larger mixed-use, mixed-income development in Redmond, Washington. The financing included tax credit equity financing, public funding, and construction and permanent loan financing from a variety of sources. The combination of two projects, each with differing financing, created a large tax risk and necessitated the separation of every aspect of the projects’ ownership, financing and accounting, and operations.
• Represented a developer in connection with 400-unit apartment complex development project, including remediation and enhancement of wetlands, land acquisition loan, mezzanine pre-development financing, and negotiation of institutional equity investment and construction/permanent financing.
• Creation of $250 million line of credit for state allocating agency to allow it to aggregate and recycle affordable housing volume cap.
• Land acquisition, ground lease, development, creation of mixed leasehold and ownership condominium regime, and finance of a mixed-use, mixed-income project in Oregon containing 145 units of housing and 30,000 square feet of commercial space, on two separate sites, including 4% LIHTC investment, tax-exempt bond financing, construction and permanent funding from Portland Housing Bureau, Metro (transit-oriented development) and PacifiCorp (sustainability), Prosper Portland, formerly Portland Development Commission (economic development), and a CDFI (permanent commercial debt).
• Land acquisition, development and financing of a 223-unit project in Colorado, using 4% LIHTC investment, tax-exempt bond financing, FHA-insured loan, county funding, HOME funding, and tax increment financing.
• Land acquisition, development and $65 million of debt and equity financing for 450-unit affordable apartment community in Nevada, containing 300 units of family housing and 150 units of senior housing, including negotiation of 4% LIHTC investment, tax-exempt bond financing, long-term swap of variable rate debt financing, HOME funding, 1602 funding, and subsequent re-syndication of LIHTC equity.
• Ground lease, financing, and development of 150-unit, mixed-use project in Washington, including negotiation of ground lease, 9% LIHTC, HOME financing, Housing Trust Fund financing, and City of Seattle and FHLB financing.
• Year 12 refinance of 400-unit affordable housing project, involving new long-term mortgage debt, pay-off of tax-exempt bonds, buyout of LIHTC investor’s interest and termination of limited partnership agreement, restructuring of debt internal to general partner and buyout of general partner interests by original syndicator of general partner interests.
• Year 15 refinance of affordable housing project, involving buyout of limited partner, buyout of minority general partners, restructuring of general partner internal debt, pre-payment of tax-exempt bonds, and new long-term mortgage debt.
• Representation of a national syndicator in connection with multiple syndications to various institutional investors of investment funds engaged in the acquisition, development and operation of federal tax credit affordable housing projects throughout the United States.
• Acquisition and renovation of a multi-family portfolio using tax-exempt bonds and FHA-insured mortgage financing, assumption of project-based Section 8 contracts and assumption of LIHPRHA use agreements.
• Acquisition and renovation of a portfolio of USDA Rural Development apartment projects, involving assumption of USDA Rural Housing financing and USDA rental assistance, assumption of existing FHA-insured financing and project-based Section 8 assistance, new FHA-insured financing and tax-exempt bonds.
• Creation, development and financing of a mixed-use renovation project comprising multiple commercial units and one residential unit of 50 affordable apartments; creation of development joint venture between commercial and residential partnerships; and negotiation of project-wide debt and equity financing (9% LIHTC, HOME, CDBG, UDAG, Housing Trust Fund, and City).
• Negotiation and sale of historic façade easement for renovation of 200-unit LIHTC building.
• Acquisition and renovation of existing apartment building in Oregon involving 9% LIHTC, 1602 financing, HOME financing, Oregon Trust Fund financing, commercial bank loan and assumption of Section 8 contract.
• Representation of community land trust in acquisition of failed subdivision, including completed homes and vacant lots; negotiation of acquisition financing for project; negotiation of down-payment assistance financing with City of Seattle; and preparation of unit sales documents and affordability covenants for the homes.
• Representation of private secondary school in qualified 501(c)(3) bond financing for an addition to the school campus and for refinancing of outstanding bonds.
• Creation of down-payment assistance loan program for Indian tribal housing authority under NAHASDA.
• Development of 150-unit student housing project for private university, involving off-balance sheet financing and use of qualified 501(c)(3) bonds enhanced with bond insurance.
• Roll-up of clients’ interests in general partner entities for 30 LIHTC projects, containing 5,000 units across the western U.S., to a newly formed holding company, and sale of majority interest in holding company to a publicly traded REIT.
• Represented KSI in a first of its kind program in the City of Kirkland, Washington, to provide affordable workforce housing for City of Kirkland and other public-sector employees who are largely priced out of housing opportunities in Kirkland city limits. We represented KSI in acquisition of the land, permitting, and development of the project and related financing and, in collaboration with the City of Kirkland, development of the necessary ordinance provisions and documentation to facilitate the program.
• Represented nonprofit music education organization in joint venture acquisition with affordable housing provider of land to be site of mixed-use building for music school and affordable housing units.

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