Soho Housing Partners, LLC

Specializing In High Quality / Affordable Multi-family Developments

BREAKING NEWS

New Affordable Rental Housing to Break Ground in Gainesville, GA

120 apartment units will replace aging Harrison Square

GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES, May 9, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A new affordable apartment community is slated to transform public housing in Gainesville. Affiliates of Paces Preservation Partners and The Housing Authority of the City of Gainesville recently closed on the financing for Harrison Village Phase I, an affordable rental housing community for families and is officially set to break ground this summer. Harrison Village Phase I will consist of 120 new apartment homes that will be priced affordably for renters earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income.

Ultimately, Harrison Village Phase I will replace Harrison Square, an aging public housing community in Gainesville that has reached the end of its practical useful life. Tenants currently living at Harrison Square will have a right to be placed in new housing at Harrison Village Phase I when it opens. Harrison Square will remain in operation until construction of Harrison Village Phase I is complete, and then is slated to be destroyed and replaced by new apartment homes for seniors once Phase II funding is achieved.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) allocated tax-exempt bonds and low-income housing tax credits for Harrison Village Phase I. These resources are the heart of a financing package that will make the project’s affordable rents sustainable for the long term.

The DCA-allocated tax-exempt bonds were issued by the Gainesville Housing Authority. Other key participants in the project’s financing include Bellwether Enterprise, BNY Mellon, Freddie Mac, JPMorgan Chase Bank, and Red Stone Equity Partners.

“This partnership will make it possible for the city to replace dated, inferior public housing and provide a modern, affordable alternative that better meets residents’ needs and is a better reflection of the vibrant, growing community of Gainesville,” says Beth Brown, executive director of the Housing Authority.

The apartment configurations will have one to four-bedroom floorplans contained in five, three-story residential buildings and were designed by Wallace Architects. Olympia Construction Co. will be the builder. Each apartment will have a fully equipped kitchen, clothes washer and dryer, central heating and air conditioning, ceiling fans and walk-in closets. The property will include a covered pavilion with picnic and barbecue equipment, a community building complete with an activity room and computer center, and an equipped outdoor children’s play area.

Paces Preservation Partners is a strategic partnership between The Paces Foundation and Soho Housing Partners. Harrison Village Phase I is the fifth project closed by Paces Preservation Partners since 2022, and its third in partnership with a local housing authority.

“Assisting housing authorities in redeveloping their public housing is highly rewarding work,” says Steve Bien, president of Soho Housing Partners. “We take great pride in this project that will provide high-quality, energy-efficient and affordable housing to those in the Gainesville area who have the greatest need.”

Handsel Morgan and MaryAlice Circle - Buford, GA RAD Financing Closes

4-20-23 Buford, GA.- Paces Preservation Partners (Soho Housing Partners and The Paces Foundation) in partnership with The Housing Authority of the City of Buford, Georgia, (BHA) is proud to announce the closing of financing of Handsel Morgan Village (45 units) and MaryAlice Circle (93 units). This combined 138-unit new construction and rehabilitation project closing was a complex multifaceted Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) development which allowed for BHA to convert their public housing units into the project-based Section 8 program. The project will be fully amenitized and has been designed with EarthCraft Energy efficiencies including many EnergyStar appliances.

The development is the culmination of many parties including: HUD, The Housing Authority of the City of Buford, Georgia, Hunt Capital Partners (Equity), East West Bank (Construction) and Greystone Housing Impact Investors, LP (Permanent Debt) Construction completion sometime in late 2024 / early 2025.

Historic Nathaniel Carr Financing Closes

10-1-22 Charlotte, NC.,- Paces Preservation Partners (Soho Housing Partners and The Paces Foundation) is proud to announce the closing of financing of Historic Nathaniel Carr Senior Community. The 120-unit project will provide much needed high quality affordable housing in the West end of Charlotte. The development is the culmination of many parties including: West Side Community Land Trust, West Blvd. Neighborhood Coalition, LISC, Charlotte Housing Trust Fund, Barings Bank, Fifth Third Bank and Raymond James. The project was financed by Fifth Third (construction), Barings (permanent), and Raymond James (equity). The company expects construction completion sometime in late 2024 / early 2025.

Charlotte Senior Community Breaks Ground – Multifamily Real Estate News (multihousingnews.com)

Waterside Oaks Apartments closes financing.

9-1-22 Gainesville, Ga.,- Paces Preservation Partners (Soho Housing Partners and The Paces Foundation) is proud to announce the closing of financing of Waterside Oaks Apartments located in Gainesville, GA. The 196-unit project will provide much needed high quality affordable housing for the greater Gainesville, GA area. The project was financed by Cadence Bank (construction), Greystone (permanent via Freddie Mac), and Regions Bank and Monarch Prive Capital (equity). The company expects construction completion sometime in early 2024.

The Paces Foundation Close Acquisition Rehab with Rome, GA Housing Authority.

5-1-21 ROME, Ga.,- Paces Foundation is proud to announce the successful closing of a rehabilitation of Ashland Apartments located in Rome, GA. The partnership between the Rome Georgia Housing Authority led by Sandra Hudson and the Paces Foundation is expected to be completed in thirteen months.

The Paces Foundation and Soho Housing Partners Partner with Buford, GA Housing Authority

4-21-21 BUFORD, Ga.,-In the next two years the Buford Housing Authority in partnership with the City of Buford will transform what public housing looks like in the city. The Buford City Planning and Zoning Board recently approved a rezoning request that will allow The Paces Foundation to begin construction on new communities which will relocate current Buford Housing Authority units. Forty-five of the seventy-three units located on New Street and East Park Street will be relocated one mile south to South Street. An additional 10 apartments are planned for the existing Housing Authority property off of Circle View Drive. Twenty new apartments are planned on New Street at Arnold Street. According to Executive Director of the Buford Housing Authority, Kevin Jones, keeping residents inside the Buford City limits was vital. “It was very important to the Housing Authority and HUD that the residents were able to remain in the downtown Buford area as many of them have family, doctors, and community in the area.” Currently, the Buford Housing Authority manages 189 public housing units in Gwinnett and Hall Counties. One hundred and forty-three of these units are located inside the city limits of Buford. Staying in line with the mission of the Buford Housing Authority, and with the financial backing of a federal funding program, forty-four new quadruplex units and one triplex are planned for South Street as a 55 and older community. Jones says the Buford Housing Authority has been thinking for some time now about renovating and possibly replacing its oldest apartments that were built 70 years ago off of East Park and New Street. “When Public Housing was built back in the 1950’s it was considered a quality product and exceeded many of the current standards of the day.” Said Jones. Through the Rental Assistance Demonstration program, the housing authority will be able to use funding in a more equitable way, to make significant improvements and modernize the properties. The community planned at Elliott and South Street will be named Handsel Morgan Village after the Housing Authority’s founder. Over time, these apartments will become a 55 plus community. The new family-oriented community on Arnold Street will be named, Mary Alice Place, after longtime employee and first female Executive Director of the Buford Housing Authority, Mary Alice Beard. The 10 units built off of Circle View Drive and Trail View Drive will be on a new road called Hill View Drive. In addition to these new apartments, there will be a new community building and playground built at this location and all seventy existing apartments will be fully renovated both internally and externally. All of the improvements and renovations are being made possible by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program in culmination with the Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD) which is a HUD program that allows Public Housing Authorities to leverage public and private debt to preserve and improve their properties. Jones said, “The Buford Housing Authority is excited about the plans to relocate the families that currently live on East Park Street and New Street to these new and modern homes and will also help address the need for affordable housing for the senior community in the city.” The Buford Housing Authority is committed to transforming the look of quality affordable housing. Another important commitment for the organization is to promote the financial self-sufficiency of their residents towards homeownership and partner with the city to encourage community-minded neighborhood redevelopment.

The Paces Foundation and Soho Housing Partners Announce Strategic Partnership

SMYRNA, Ga., Oct. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Paces Foundation and Soho Housing Partners are pleased to announce they have entered into a strategic partnership, combining Paces' industry leading affordable housing development and preservation services with Soho's exceptional capabilities structuring complex financial solutions that make quality investments for workforce housing communities possible.

With a growing affordable housing crisis brewing, state and local authorities recognize the need for creative and sustainable solutions to meet their communities' workforce housing needs. The Paces-Soho partnership brings together significant skills in funding strategies, public procurement, urban revitalization, affordable housing development, services and management to help support housing authorities meet their portfolio revitalization goals.

The new strategic partnership created by Soho and Paces will be named Paces Preservation Partners LLC. Michael Bauer, Paces' Director of Community Development, will help drive the initiative. Michael brings more than 20 years of proven leadership in the development and design of large-scale affordable housing options.

"Paces' COO, Renee Sandell, and I believe the strategic partnership with Soho Housing Partners will provide Paces the opportunity to leverage the extensive financial skills of Soho principals and help relieve the road blocks many communities face in structuring these revitalization projects," Mark du Mas, President of The Paces Foundation, said.

"By partnering with The Paces Foundation as a single team, we can further help housing authorities, smaller regional non-profits, and municipal entities, preserve and reimagine the next generation of workforce housing communities. The quality of Paces' reputation and product is second to none and the timing is essential for this partnership to help ease the growing national affordable housing crisis," states Stephen Bien, Principal of Soho Housing Partners.

According to the 2019 Harvard JHCH State of the Nation's Housing Report, the stock of low-cost rentals has shrunk by 4 million units since 2011, and nearly half of the remaining inventory is more than 50 years old. State and local communities are looking for ways they can preserve affordable housing units and make them energy-efficient for renters.

About Soho Housing Partners
Leveraging more than 40 years of housing and capital markets experience, Soho Housing Partners, LLC was founded by Stephen Bien and Kevin DiQuattro to develop, construct, and preserve multi-housing with a concentration on affordable housing developments. Soho's significant structuring, financial, and technical expertise affords the ability to find value in even the most complex transactions and unique development opportunities.

About The Paces Foundation
Founded in 1991, The Paces Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing and services for low income neighbors. The housing for both seniors and families is built to green certification standards to ease utility and maintenance costs for residents and have a low impact on the environment. The foundation contributed millions of dollars to the economy via professional services and building trades and is Section 3 compliant. The Paces Foundation has owned, preserved and/or developed more than 3,000 units across the southeast, and most recently New Jersey. Visit www.pacesfoundation.org.

Media Contact: Amy Sigal, amy@pacesfoundation.org

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