AFFORDABLE HOUSING INDUSTRY

Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta announced that it will award $37.6 million to help finance 56 affordable housing developments in 15 states and the District of Columbia. The bank, through its Affordable Housing Program (AHP), will use $28.5 million of the funds to assist in the acquisition, new construction, rehabilitation or preservation of 3,922 rental or homeownership units in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The remaining $9 million will be used to fund 890 affordable units in states outside the bank's district. The bank expects this AHP investment to leverage other financing sources that when combined will develop more than $457.3 million of affordable housing.

First Republic Bank was named Investor of the Year by Merritt Community Capital Corporation (MCCC). MCCC, which invests in affordable housing throughout California, recognized First Republic for its $14 million investment in MCCC Fund XIII, a multi-investor low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) fund.

Enterprise Community Partners and the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) announced a partnership to advance transit-oriented development (TOD). The entities intend to work with other national and local partners to promote regional equity collaboratives that encourage discussion and planning for TOD projects; assess community financing needs and develop appropriate solutions; share knowledge and best practices to benefit the broader community development field; and develop and advocate for public policy that promotes equitable TOD. The companies say the partnership builds on LIIF and Enterprise's collaborations in the San Francisco Bay Area like the Bay Area Transit Oriented Affordable Housing Fund.

Centerline Capital Group formed a new division within its mortgage banking group to focus on developing and implementing mortgage financing and related structures outside of its traditional government-sponsored entity (GSE) and Federal Housing Administration executions. The company says the new alternative capital markets division will provide its clients with a platform that is able to access all levels of debt and equity financing. Kevin Smith, Centerline's director of mortgage banking, will lead the division. Loans will range between $10 million and $100 million.

---

---

DEALMAKERS

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) leveraged a $5 million grant from the federal Capital Magnet Fund to launch an affordable housing loan pool that is designed to stimulate rental housing preservation and development. The loan pool, called the Neighborhood Revitalization Loan Fund, is supported by a $19 million loan from Morgan Stanley and is expected to fuel $100 million in affordable housing development by providing early financing and loan guarantees. LISC will disburse the fund's proceeds through 30 LISC urban programs throughout the country, as well as Rural LISC. The fund will focus on financing LIHTC properties.

Boston Capital invested in Henry Williams Townhomes, a 42-unit multifamily development in Petersburg, Va. The property comprises 18 two-bedroom and 24 three-bedroom units located in six one- and two-story buildings. Community amenities include a clubhouse with a common room and kitchenette, common laundry and a playground. Within the units, resident will have central air conditioning and EnergyStar appliances, including laundry machines and dishwashers. As an EarthCraft-designated development, Henry Williams Townhomes is projected to consume 30 percent less energy than other newly constructed properties. The community will be built with LIHTC equity and its units will be available to households earning 50 percent or less of the area median income (AMI).

Stratford Capital Group announced the closing of Stratford Fund V, an $80 million LIHTC limited partnership composed of 15 affordable rental apartment properties located in nine states. Eight institutional investors, including a Stratford Capital affiliate, participated in the fund. Stratford Capital is in the process of launching Stratford Fund VII, a $100 million LIHTC fund that is expected to close in early 2012.

Wood Partners completed construction of the $13 million Steele Creek Seniors community in Charlotte, N.C. The property is already 50 percent leased and the first residents moved into the 120-unit complex in October. Amenities include a library, laundry facilities, fitness and craft rooms, a full-service salon, a computer lounge and a community meeting room. RBC Capital Markets provided LIHTC equity for the final phase of Steele Creek's development. Its units are split almost evenly between individuals earning 30 percent or less of AMI and those making 60 percent or less of AMI.

.

STATE BRIEFS

The Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC) announced that it will undergo a reorganization of its operating divisions during the next several months to streamline the application and review process for affordable housing developers. This reorganization will also provide more focus on energy financing, which the commission said is a growth area. Under the consolidation plan, the capital projects and tax credit divisions will merge into a single new division called the multifamily housing and community facilities division. Steve Walker, the former director of the tax credit division, will head the newly-formed division. In a related change, the compliance and preservation division has been renamed the asset management and compliance division.

The Austin Chronicle awarded Foundation Communities a 2011 Best of Austin Critics Pick for the affordable housing developer's M Station community near the MLK MetroStation in Austin, Texas. The LIHTC property was recognized in the Architecture & Lodging category for best affordable housing intervention. M Station's residents have access to supportive services that include adult education classes, afterschool programs, tax preparation, and financial stability programs.

Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) announced the formation of a subsidiary to facilitate additional affordable housing development. AHFC says the new subsidiary, called the Corporation for Affordable Housing (CAH), will allow the agency to access pools of federal funds such as bond financing and the 4 percent LIHTC program.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal made six appointments to the Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) board of directors. The gubernatorial appointees reside in different congressional districts and each has at least five years of housing development or financing experience, as required by statute. The members are Mayson Foster, mayor of Hammond; Ellen Lee, senior vice president of programs at the Greater New Orleans Foundation; Frank Thaxton III, an attorney and retired district court judge; Matt Ritchie, owner of Ritchie Real Estate LLC; Malcolm Young, CEO of the Louisiana Realtors; and Daryl Burckel, professor of accounting at McNeese State University. LHC is the state's streamlined housing agency that was created to unite dozens of housing programs that were previously administered by five agencies. The full board will consist of 11 members, including six appointments by the governor, two by the Speaker of the House, two by the president of the Senate and one by the treasurer or his designee.

---

---

PEOPLE IN THE INDUSTRY

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that two Freddie Mac board members, chairman John Koskinen and chairman of the governance and nominating committee Robert Glauber, have reached the company's mandatory retirement age and will step down from the board in February. Christopher Lynch, chairman of the Freddie Mac board's audit committee, will assume chairmanship of the Freddie Mac board this month. In another leadership change, Freddie Mac CEO Charles Haldeman Jr. announced his intention to step down in the coming year after the board identifies a successor.

The Housing Advisory Group (HAG) appointed Meg Manley, Housing Trust of America (HTA) Development's senior vice president for development, to its executive committee. She helped launch HTA Development and has contributed to the development of 3,000 affordable housing units in multiple states during the past 15 years. Manley also has experience in LIHTC transaction structuring and consulting. Last year she was appointed to serve as the co-chair of the legislative committee for the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition.

Centerline Capital Group announced that Jim Gillespie has joined the firm as managing director of affordable housing debt. He will be based in Centerline's New York office and will report to Philip Melton. Gillespie will be responsible for debt originations throughout the country, for increasing the firm's debt volume in the Northeast, and for developing new products to expand Centerline's affordable housing debt platform. He has 17 years of experience in the affordable housing industry with a focus on financing and acquiring multifamily apartment properties that involved tax-exempt bonds (TEBs). Before joining Centerline, Gillespie was managing director of Red Stone Partners, where he helped build and manage the firm's TEB financing programs.

Barb Sporlein joined Minnesota Housing as the agency's deputy commissioner. She most recently served as the director of planning for the city of Minneapolis and spent six years as the deputy executive director for the St. Paul Public Housing Agency. In her new role, Sporlein's duties include agency wide planning, credit risk management, and operations and talent management.

---

---