NOAH Finances Oakridge Mobile Home Park Renewal
In April of this year, NOAH closed a $550,000 permanent loan with St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County (SVDP) for the Oakridge Mobile Home Park. The park provides 56 homes, with space available to add seven more.
The park is located in Oakridge, a rural community of 3,210 residents that is 45 miles east of Eugene, along the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. The park has been in existence since the 1950, and was in very poor condition when SVDP acquired it. Prior to SVDP’s purchase, the park had high crime rates and poor livability. SVDP worked closely with the residents, the local business community and volunteers to make improvements to the overall condition of the park. The park now has new amenities including a playground, gazebo, benches and a picnic-barbecue area.
Unlike other manufactured home parks financed by NOAH, this park will not be resident-owned but rather will be owned by SVDP, who will rent spaces to residents. SVDP owns more than 1,300 affordable housing units, has acquired five mobile home parks in recent years and is working to acquire additional facilities in the future. According to SVDP Executive Director Terry McDonald, “It’s critically important that we maintain and improve what historically has been a vital source of affordable housing.”
Prior to funding the permanent loan, NOAH provided SVDP a pre-development loan to assist with the purchase. Other financial partners for this property are Oregon Housing and Community Services and the Federal Home Loan Bank.
Manufactured home parks are at risk of being lost for redevelopment or reuse all around the state. NOAH is committed to helping residents, nonprofits and public housing authorities purchase parks and keep them affordable to residents.
The Barcelona Opens in Downtown Beaverton
NOAH closed a permanent loan of $1.1 million in August 2016 for The Barcelona Apartments, the newest property from Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH). The Barcelona is a 47-unit affordable apartment complex, in a 4-story mid-rise elevator-served building, in the heart of Beaverton. It was built on land owned by the City of Beaverton, which was one of CPAH’s six funding partners for this project. Other funders included: JP Morgan Chase, the National Equity Fund, Oregon Housing and Community Services, Washington County Office of Community Development, the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development and the Community Housing Fund.
The building contains three studios, 41 one-bedroom/one bath units and three 2-bedroom/one bath units and will primarily house seniors and people with disabilities. The building has many amenities including a community room with computer access, an outdoor patio and a solarium on the top floor. The property was constructed according to Enterprise Green Community Standards.
The building is part of a larger development which includes a mixed-use, market-rate apartment building, La Scala, that is being developed by RKM Development. Together these new properties will enhance the activity and pedestrian experience, breathing new life into the center of Old Town Beaverton. CPAH is a private, nonprofit community development corporation that has developed eight affordable apartment complexes containing 372 units.
Ridings Terrace I and II Acquisition in Molalla
NOAH’s Oregon Housing Acquisition Fund (OHAF) is an important resource for mission-focused developers to acquire and preserve housing that is nearing the end of its federal use restrictions and/or at risk of being sold or converted to market-rate housing. In July of this year, NOAH financed the acquisition of Ridings Terrace I and II in Molalla, Oregon with a $1,267,500 OHAF loan and $509,000 Gap loan. The borrower, Molalla Affordable Housing LLC, purchased the two adjacent Section 8 family properties with plans to preserve them for the next 60 years. Four-year terms provide the owner time to assemble permanent sources needed to finance property renovations and repay the OHAF and Gap loans. The properties have 19 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom units in seven buildings. Molalla Affordable Housing LLC is controlled by Chrisman Development. Since their inception in 1989, Chrisman Development has developed or rehabilitated 41 affordable housing properties with 1,352 units.
The OHAF fund, which is made possible with substantial assistance from the Meyer Memorial Trust and The MacArthur Foundation, has provided 25 acquisition loans totaling $40.6 million helping to preserve or create 998 units of affordable housing across Oregon.
Second Phase of Orchards at Orenco Opens
A large crowd gathered August 10th, 2016 to celebrate the Grand Opening of Orchards at Orenco Phase II, 58 units of affordable workforce development housing located at the Orenco Station in Hillsboro.
NOAH provided permanent financing for Phase I and has committed $2.7 million in permanent financing for Phase II. Developed by REACH CDC, Orchards at Orenco is a three-phase development built to Passive House standards, creating an extremely energy efficient building. These construction techniques reduce heating and cooling requirements, while simultaneously creating excellent indoor air quality. Other features include an outstanding transit-oriented location on the MAX light rail line. (photos courtesy of REACH CDC/Ankrom Moisan Architects)
NOAH Board of Directors Adopts New strategic Plan
After more than 30 interviews with industry stakeholders, borrowers and supporters, and a strategic planning retreat, the NOAH Board of Directors adopted a new strategic plan this summer to guide the organization over the next five years. The plan builds on NOAH’s 26 years of experience in affordable housing finance, policy and program development and implementation.
Through the strategic diversification of NOAH’s lending products and programs, NOAH will aggregate and deploy capital for a broad range of housing solutions. NOAH also plans to retain an active role in shaping and guiding policies and programs that support the creation and preservation of affordable housing in Oregon.
NOAH will pursue four main avenues for greater impact:
1. Scale up lending operations by expanding the amount of capital available for permanent loans and bonds.
2. Take a leadership role in addressing major issues related to the housing affordability crisis, income inequality and under-invested communities. Create and test new loan products to address current and emergent needs.
3. Advance an equity agenda. Expand our lending in under-represented and under-served communities and improve NOAH’s corporate practices for supporting diversity in our internal operations.
4. Invest in internal capacity to enhance NOAH’s effectiveness and efficiency resulting in the ability to impact policy, effectively deploy new products, enter new markets, and increase earned revenue to support key staff positions.
As part of the plan, NOAH has begun a capital campaign to increase its lending capacity and to support operational growth. NOAH hopes to expand funding from current bank investors as well as attract new banks to invest in its loan pools. NOAH will also seek non-bank capital and philanthropic sources to grow its flexible funding. These new capital resources are needed to respond to the housing crisis, and will support NOAH’s ambitious and laudable plans for increasing the supply of affordable housing in Oregon.
View the plan here or download a .pdf here.
NOAH Has a New Look!
Over the past few months NOAH has updated its brand with a new logo and website. We also have a social media presence. You can find us Twitter and LinkedIn where we’re sharing up to the minute information about our most recent projects. And check out our new website!
NOAH recently achieved high honors from Oregon Business magazine’s 100 Best Nonprofits To Work For in Oregon. On September 29th, NOAH was ranked the sixth best small nonprofit in Oregon. The award is presented as part of Oregon Business’ 100 Best Companies project. This was NOAH’s first time competing for the award.
Congrats to MPower
Congratulations to NOAH’s affiliate MPower for receiving the Bank of America sponsored Oregon Opportunity Network Innovation Award. Check out this short video highlighting their good work.