HumanGood provides clean, renewable energy for residents and communities

Posted by beacon on Fri, Jul 7, 2023 at 5:16 PM

Acquisition/Rehab, California, Construction, Sustainable Buildings, Washington

Solar panel installation reduces carbon footprint and costs for affordable housing sector.

HumanGood has been making strides in our efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and costs for our properties and residents. Beacon Development Group, HumanGood’s development arm, has been installing solar panels on new affordable housing communities and rehabilitation projects using two solar technologies: solar photovoltaic, which uses sunlight to generate electric currents, and thermal, which uses sunlight to heat water used in the communities. Currently, more than a dozen affordable housing communities own their own solar system whether it is solar electric or solar hot water. Outside ownership, there are also other options to provide these technologies for our communities.

The Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) and Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) programs help provide clean energy and save costs for residents at no cost to the property. The programs are offered to select California utility providers and present financial benefits, improve environmental sustainability, and offset the costs of climate change for communities. Approximately 50 percent of the solar produced will reduce residents’ energy bills while the other 50 percent benefits the communities themselves.

“We have the footprint across our portfolio to use the sun to power our buildings and in some cases, heat the water used by our residents,” said George Sousou, construction management director, Beacon Development Group. “There are many benefits to solar whether it’s the reduction in our buildings’ carbon footprint, the cost savings to daily operations and residents, or just doing our part of being responsible building owners.”

Beacon’s construction management department installed solar technology on four HumanGood affordable housing communities across California through the SOMAH program: Valley Vista, Judson Terraces Homes, Life’s Garden, and Sycamore Terrace. Fern Lodge is also 75 percent complete with its installation. Beacon plans to complete installation at six more communities in the next year under a contract with SunRun.

“I hope to one day see solar and other renewable energy alternatives across our entire portfolio of affordable housing and life plan communities,” said Sousou. By the end of 2024, Beacon plans to install solar panels in a total of 23 HumanGood affordable housing communities in California.

Funding for Domestic Violence Survivor Housing

Posted by beacon on Tue, Feb 15, 2022 at 10:06 PM

Acquisition/Rehab, Beacon, Construction, Washington

Groundbreaking took place in December. Anticipated completion date for the rehabilitation is September 2022 and new construction is January 2023.

Beacon is proud to announce funding for 25 units of emergency and transitional housing for survivors of domestic violence and their children who are coming out of homelessness or are at risk for homelessness. The project includes rehabilitation of residential housing and new construction of a building to provide services. The site is located close to transit, parks, medical services, and other amenities. Funding awards includes $4.3M Housing Finance Program loan and a $2M award from the State Housing Trust Fund. The project team include Environmental Works and Buchanan General Contracting and the client has a stated priority for Minority Business Representation on the project.

Frederick Douglas Haynes Apartments & Castle Argyle Construction Update

Posted by beacon on Mon, Aug 2, 2021 at 3:13 PM

Acquisition/Rehab, Beacon, California, Construction, Family Housing, Historic Buildings, Occupied Rehabs, Senior Housing

New landscaping, walkways, and building wayfinding at Frederick Douglas Haynes Apartments.

New cabinetry and appliances in resident units at Frederick Douglas Haynes Apartments.

The redevelopment of the 104-unit Frederick Douglas Haynes Apartments in San Francisco, CA and 94-unit Castle Argyle Apartments in Los Angeles have both reached 50% completion. Each Community started extensive rehab in August 2020, the completed phase 1 redevelopment of Frederick Douglas Haynes included the renovation of all units in three buildings which also encompassed the property management office, laundry room and community room. New landscaping, walkways, repaved parking lots, and mailbox locations have also been installed.

Restored original signage at Castle Argyle Apartments.

New cabinetry and appliances in residential units at Castle Argyle Aprartments.

As we cross 50% project completion at Castle Argyle, much of the seismic foundation work has been completed and new sheer walls have been extended to the 7^th floor. A new elevator shaft has been constructed, and the total remodel of half the resident units is nearly done. The restoration of key architectural features in the coming work will showcase the building’s classic look.

Financing closes on $170M on Two California Projects to Renovate 200 Units

Posted by beacon on Fri, Aug 21, 2020 at 5:57 PM

Acquisition/Rehab, Awards & Recognition, Beacon, California, Construction, Family Housing, Historic Buildings, Occupied Rehabs, Senior Housing

Starting in Northern California and in partnership with Third Baptist Church, Beacon Development Group and HumanGood Affordable Housing successfully closed on a $100M low income housing tax credit financing for the renovation of 104 units at Frederick Douglas Haynes Gardens Apartments. This redevelopment will improve the quality of living for the residents and preserves the community’s affordability for years to come. Frederick Douglas Haynes serves low-income families in the heart of San Francisco’s Filmore district.

Rendering of Community Room at Frederick Douglas Haynes by Paulett Tagartt Architects.

The Third Baptist Church of San Francisco was founded in 1852 and has been a staple in the San Francisco community for 168 years. As the first African American congregation west of the Rockies, Third Baptist Church has continuously worked with their community to address the rapidly growing need for affordable housing and equity. The preservation of the Frederick Douglas Haynes Gardens Apartments was critical for the large families and communities of color that have been disproportionately displaced in a quickly gentrify urban core of San Francisco.

In Southern California, Beacon Development Group and HumanGood Affordable Housing closed on $70 million in total financing to preserve and rehab 96 units of senior housing at Castle Argyle Apartments. This project will have major upgrades of all systems and a complete seismic retro-fit.

Originally constructed in the 1920s as an apartment-hotel serving the silent film industry, it housed movie stars such as Clark Gable, Howard Hughes, Ronald Reagan and Cecil B. DeMille. The design intent of this renovation is reveal the building’s classic character and re-introduce its orgins of the Golden Era. Along with rehabbing all units and addition of service spaces, the restoration of the grand lobby and office space will bring the building back to its classic Hollywood style.

These accomplishments in the middle of a pandemic and social unrest are a testament to our team’s professionalism, commitment, and love of the mission.

CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETE ON 2 CALIFORNIA PROJECTS

Posted by beacon on Mon, Dec 31, 2018 at 12:28 PM

Acquisition/Rehab, Beacon, California, Construction

Life’s Garden Renovation Includes a Modernized Exterior Entrance

At the end of October 2018, Life’s Garden community in Sunnyvale, CA completed its $65-million-dollar redevelopment that started in 2016. The renovation touched every aspect of the community from new fixtures and finishes in all units, improved mobility features throughout the property, installation of drought tolerant landscaping, and an expansion of the management office. The 208-unit building was originally constructed in 1974 to serve seniors 62 and older. To continue that mission, the project took additional steps to provide residents the opportunity to age in place on the premise. The property now has improved ADA parking closer to the building, new cane detection curbs at overhead protruding stairs and widened outdoor walkways to accommodate wheelchairs. Due to the scale of the project and the comprehensive renovation, construction occurred over 8 phases requiring the temporary relocation of more than 200 residents.

Life’s Garden grand re-opening is scheduled for January 10, 2019.

Mount Rubidoux Manor Receives a Cheerful Exterior Makeover

And in November 2018, we completed the $36 million, 12 month refinance and rehabilitation of Mt. Rubidoux Manor in Riverside, CA. The renovation includes significant energy upgrades, full building system replacements, upgraded unit finishes and re-energized community and office spaces. Built in 1971, the 188 unit community provides much needed affordable senior housing to the City of Riverside.

More details about the project can be found here.

The grand opening for Mt. Rubidoux is anticipated for March of 2019.

New life brought to Mount Rubidioux Manor

Posted by beacon on Thu, Jul 19, 2018 at 3:51 PM

Acquisition/Rehab, Beacon, California, Construction, Senior Housing

Exterior painting has begun

Mt. Rubidoux Manor, a 188 senior housing facility located in downtown Riverside, CA, is currently undergoing an extensive renovation. It is a 16-story residential building originally built in 1971 by Riverside First Baptist Homes, Inc. under the HUD Section 236 program. The current project is a partnership between HumanGood Affordable Housing and Riverside First Baptist Homes. This strategic partnership allowed the long-term vision and mission of Riverside First Baptist Homes Inc.to be preserved and strengthened with the mission and values of HumanGood Affordable Housing. The project targets seniors at or below 50% and 60% of median income but serves residents at much lower incomes through a HUD Section 8 contract covering 170 units. The building has 135 studio, 52 one-bedroom and 1 two-bedroom units.

The completed rehabilitation will include new unit kitchens, bathrooms, lighting and flooring, ADA upgrades, replacement of all exterior windows and doors, upgrades to both unit and common area heating / cooling systems, full tear down and replacement of roof and insulation, full replacement of supply and waste plumbing, a new energy efficient boiler, the addition of a rooftop photovoltaic system, exterior paint, conversion of an obsolete commercial kitchen to new office space, new community recreation and social service space and other common area upgrades. This is a welcomed rejuvenation for the 45+ year old building that has withstood earthquakes, emergency balcony repairs and a recent residential fire that damaged 13 units.

On June 28th, Walton Construction hosted a taco party for residents to celebrate 50% completion of the project and had over 200 attendees

Funding for the project includes an allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the California Tax Credit Allocating Committee, tax exempt bonds through Citibank, N.A., tax credit equity from Alliant Capital, City of Riverside HOME funds, a Housing Authority of the City of Riverside redevelopment successor agency loan and Low-Income Weatherization Program incentives. The project team includes Walton Construction and Egan Simon Architects. The expected completion date is November 2018.

Congrats Harbor View Manor!

Posted by beacon on Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 6:32 AM

Acquisition/Rehab, Awards & Recognition, Occupied Rehabs, Sustainable Buildings, Washington

Harbor View Manor, located in Tacoma, WA, was recently awarded a 2015 Excellence in Affordable Housing Award for Sustainability by the Tacoma/Pierce County Affordable Housing Consortium. Harbor View Manor is owned by Beacon Communities. Beacon Development Group served as development consultant on the acquisition and rehabilitation of the project. Walsh Construction Co. was the General Contractor and SMR Architects served as the architects.

Crafting Unique Solutions to Affordable Housing Preservation

Posted by beacon on Fri, Aug 28, 2015 at 5:18 PM

Acquisition/Rehab, Family Housing, Occupied Rehabs, Senior Housing, Washington

Beacon has a long track record of working with clients to create more affordable housing, both in new construction and in the repositioning of older assets, thereby extending a building’s affordability and useful life. There are typically a host of financial tools available to do this in WA State – from Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs) to State and local dollars such as the Seattle Housing Levy. But over the last several years many of these, especially at the State level, have been under constant threat.

Yet the need for affordable housing keeps growing. As a result, Beacon has worked hard on behalf of clients to turn over every rock for new funding. Two recent examples of projects that utilized groundbreaking “first of its kind” financing in Washington State are Yakima Family Housing in Yakima and Hilltop House in Seattle.

Yakima Family Housing with the Yakima Housing Authority (YHA) was completed in late 2014 and was the one of the first HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD)-funded projects in WA State. Beacon and YHA worked together to secure the award from HUD and then packaged it with 9% LIHTCs to refinance and renovate 150 units of scattered-site public housing across the City of Yakima. Beacon also served as construction manager, working with YHA to oversee the complex process of tenant relocation and renovation, while ensuring minimal disruption to families and maintaining the tight timeline for LIHTC delivery. Partners on this project include Raymond James, Walker Construction Co., and ZBA Architecture. Kantor, Taylor, Nelson, Evatt & Decina PC provided legal services.

Hilltop House Apts., Hilltop House, Inc.

In May of this year Beacon also started construction on Hilltop House Apartments in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle. On behalf of this 124-unit non-profit-owned senior project, Beacon secured one of only twelve HUD SPRAC (Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contract) awards in the United States. Working with CBRE Group, Inc. through its FHA lending program, this unique financing was leveraged to retire existing HUD 202 and Flexible Subsidy loans so that a new permanent FHA 221(d)(4) loan could be used to extensively rehabilitate the property and prevent displacement of low-income seniors. In addition to CBRE, partners on this project include SMR Architects and Walsh Construction Company. Kantor, Taylor, Nelson, Evatt & Decina PC provided legal services.

According to Muriel Cashdollar, Board President of Hilltop House, “Beacon Development has worked tirelessly to help Hilltop House refinance our HUD mortgage, find an architect and a contractor, and manage the entire process. We could not have accomplished our goals without their significant help. Beacon’s experience has made our current construction possible!”

Together these projects represent nearly 275 affordable homes that would not have been preserved without these unique and creative approaches to affordable housing development. Together with our clients, Beacon strives to always secure the right financing for the needs of your project and your tenants.

Occupied Rehabs Done Right

Posted by beacon on Tue, Oct 14, 2014 at 5:05 PM

Acquisition/Rehab, Construction, Occupied Rehabs, Senior Housing, Special Needs

Beacon works on various different affordable housing project types with clients. In recent years, we have worked on many occupied rehabilitation projects, preserving important assets for owners, residents and communities across Washington State.

An occupied rehab is typically an older building that undergoes a renovation while residents are still living there. This often involves upgrades to critical life and safety systems such as fire alarms, heating and venting systems and “aging in place” features such as grab bars in showers and bathrooms, and enhanced ADA access to units and common areas. While doing work on the building, occupants are sometimes relocated for short or long periods of time, to allow for construction in their apartments to take place. At Beacon we pride ourselves on crafting a construction approach to occupied rehabs that is sensitive to resident needs in order to minimize disruption to the daily lives of tenants.

Over the past 10 years, Beacon has completed a dozen occupied rehab projects with clients throughout the State of Washington. We have found that our team approach to projects works well on the complexities of this type of development, with project and construction managers working together to coordinate details with owners and residents. Beacon also leverages the deep knowledge of our construction managers, Jason Manges and Matthew Flickinger, who combined have over 30 years of experience overseeing construction throughout the region.

In order to execute an occupied rehab project, we have found that there are important steps that must be taken into account to ensure success and deliver a project that is high quality and under budget.

Conduct a pre-mortem. This is where everyone involved in the project, from project managers to property management, gathers together in a room and lists all the possibilities that may arise during construction, especially any risks related to scope of improvements or hazardous materials.

Commission a hazardous materials assessment report. This is when the building is analyzed for hazardous materials such as lead, asbestos or mold that may be harmful during the construction process. In Washington State subcontractors cannot legally perform work on older buildings without this kind of assessment and since remediation of these materials is expensive, we have found it is worth investing in this kind of report up front.

Perform deconstructive testing. Since it is often impossible to enter every apartment and look behind every wall before work begins, we have found that it is worth deeply investigating conditions in a limited number of units in order to develop a realistic scope and budget for work throughout the building. This requires a high level of coordination with property management and tenants.

Develop a realistic schedule. It is often worth consulting with a general contractor early to develop a realistic schedule for how long improvement within apartments will take. This should take into account a certain amount of “slush” time for unforeseen conditions in each unit.

Let your schedule inform your resident relocation plan. Work early and often with property management, and a relocation specialist if necessary, to craft a plan that is both sensible and sensitive to tenant needs. Publicly funded occupied rehabs in Washington often involve senior and special needs residents, and particular care should be paid to minimize disruption to these households if possible.

Develop a comprehensive pest management plan. Nobody likes to talk about bedbugs, but it is now a reality in many types of housing in Washington State. As a result, coordination with property management staff must take place to eradicate bedbugs at several junctures during an occupied rehab. Beacon recommends treatment of the building prior to the commencement of work and then again after completion. In addition, treatment of resident belongings may be necessary as part of the relocation process to avoid re-contamination after completion. Bring on a pest control company early to help craft this plan.
ABHOW’s Three Rivers Village Entrance – After

Know your roles. Within a Beacon occupied rehab development process, the “main players” involved are the architect, the general contractor, the owner, and Beacon. The architect is responsible for documenting and communicating the design effort. The general contractor is responsible for staffing the job, bidding unit prices and maintaining the schedule. The owner is responsible for reaching out to the residents, coordinating the relocation efforts and high level project decisions. Lastly, working with the owner, Beacon is typically responsible for assembling the financing for the project and ensuring effective and efficient team work throughout that will deliver a high quality building that is on schedule and under budget!

Despite their challenges, occupied rehabs often can be the most satisfying kind of development due to the stark changes in the “before” and “after” conditions of a building. At Beacon we work with clients and project teams to deliver beautifully transformed buildings for low-income residents. It is very exciting to see how happy residents can be with improved living conditions once a project is done.

Three Rivers Village Grand Re-Opening Celebration

Posted by beacon on Tue, Aug 26, 2014 at 4:03 PM

Acquisition/Rehab, Project Openings, Senior Housing, Sustainable Buildings, Washington

Beacon is excited to announce the grand re-opening of Three Rivers Village, located in Richland, WA. Three Rivers is an affordable housing community owned by American Baptist Homes of the West (ABHOW) and developed with Beacon for seniors and the disabled earning up to 30%, 40%, and 50% of area median income.

ABHOW purchased Three Rivers in 2010 when the previous owners wanted to exit their HUD program, thus preventing a conversion to market rate and displacement of senior and disabled residents. The renovation included the modernization of apartment kitchens and bathrooms, the common area dining room and significant site upgrades. A new expanded manager’s office and meeting room, administration work offices, a wellness room and reconfigured entries were added as new construction. The building remained occupied during the renovation so rigorous steps were taken to lessen the impact on residents, many of whom were frail and elderly. The building entered into a 20-year HUD Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment Contract extension as part of the acquisition by ABHOW. Capital funding was provided by the National Equity Fund, which purchased Low-Income Housing Tax Credits awarded by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. Acquisition funding and long term debt was provided by Washington Community Reinvestment Association.

With ZBA Architecture as the architect and Walker Construction, Inc. as the GC on this project, Three Rivers Village was completed this spring. The grand re-opening ceremony took place on site in June and was attended by residents, community leaders, funders and members of the development team. Many people gathered to view and honor the success of the development and the preservation of such an important community asset for the City of Richland. Since many of the seniors at Three Rivers Village love birds, Beacon welcomed guests back into their newly renovated apartments by donating birdhouses and bird-feeders to the property so residents can relax and watch the birds in their newly improved exterior gathering spaces.

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