Earlier this year, Beacon and HumanGood celebrated the grand re-opening of the Sun Tower community located in Yakima, WA. The transformation included all the systems and finishes which improved how the building functions in terms of efficiency, energy use and water use. The community now has a modernized feel that has enhanced residents’ comfort. For more detailed information on the project click here.
These photos highlight some of the renovations made to the common areas and residents’ units.
Beacon joined Yakima Housing Authority as participants in Enterprise’s annual AHDLI. The AHDLI is a 3-day in-person training program for the country’s leading affordable housing designers and developers seeking to find creative solutions to design challenges in affordable housing projects. It was a great opportunity to participate in interactive design charrettes to share knowledge and expertise with innovators in our industry. This year, eight developers presented projects from across the country and received design feedback from peers and the panel of design experts gathered in Seattle.
AHDLI partcipants
The YHA and Beacon presented YHA’s Veteran Supportive Housing and Service Center project. The project is the redevelopment of 4.64-acre former United States Marine Corp armory property in Yakima. The project includes rehabilitation of the armory as well as new construction housing to create 41 units of permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans and their families. In addition, the project will include a service center that will be open to homeless veterans in the community. This will include a primary care and dental clinic for homeless veterans. Office space will be created for veteran service providers, including VASH case managers who will provide services for residents onsite.
Our YHA team received insightful feedback on our project design, which we are now integrating into our plans. The knowledge shared at the 3-day workshop has provided us with new ideas and resources, not only for the YHA project, but for our design process on other projects going forward. We are grateful to our team members at YHA, to the other designers and presenters, and to Enterprise for this valuable opportunity.
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.
Beacon Development Group is proud to announce the financial closing and groundbreaking of two new affordable housing projects in Everett, WA: HopeWorks Station II and The Colby Avenue Youth Center.
Conceptual rendering of HopeWorks Station II
HopeWorks Station II is sponsored by Housing Hope and HopeWorks and is located within the Everett Station District neighborhood on the 3300 block of Broadway in downtown Everett.
This new transit oriented, mixed-use development will provide affordable housing dedicated to serving individuals and small families who enter the residential program through homelessness or who are very low income. It will offer a Workforce Development Center comprised of food-focused culinary training programs, career counseling and confidence building, offering sustainable career pathways. The residential portion of the project will consist of 65 apartments: 28 studios, 27 one-bedrooms and 10 two-bedroom units dedicated to empowering disadvantaged veterans, families and youth towards self-sufficiency. For updated project information please click here.
The list of funders is extensive and includes predevelopment funding from Impact Capital, Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity from Enterprise, construction lending from JP Morgan Chase Bank, a Federal Home Loan Bank AHP award, New Markets Tax Credits allocated from Enterprise and Northern Trust, a bridge loan from Enterprise Community Loan Fund, public funding from the State of WA, City of Everett and Snohomish County, social investors and corporate, foundation and private donors from the community.
Conceptual Renderings of Cocoon House
The Colby Avenue Youth Center is Cocoon House’s new 31,848 square foot facility that will include a 4,200 SF youth drop-in center, social service and program space, and housing with 40 units for homeless youth and young adults. Cocoon House’s goal in creating this new building is to provide homeless youth in Snohomish County with access to a full array of housing and services in one, safe, secure location. The ground-floor youth day center will include a commercial kitchen, large common room, laundry area, shower rooms, computer room, music room, counseling offices and a visiting nurse primary care office. Cocoon House’s outreach, homeless prevention and administrative offices will also be located on this floor. The 40 units of housing, located on the second and third floors, will include 20 SRO units of transitional housing for 15 – 17 year old youth and 20 units of permanent supportive housing units for 18 – 24 year old young adults. The housing areas include common area kitchens and living rooms for residents to gather, eat and socialize. Twenty-four hour staffing and intensive case management support will also be provided by Cocoon House.
The list of funders includes WA State Dept of Commerce, Snohomish County, City of Everett, City of Marysville, Peoples Bank and Cocoon House.
Ribbon cutting with BDG, HGAH, and partners
Beacon Development Group and HumanGood Affordable Housing were joined by community members, elected officials, and the development team to celebrate the completion of work at Sun Tower in Yakima last week. The 12-story high rise was originally built in 1967 under Section 202 of the National Housing Act to serve low income and disabled seniors. HumanGood Affordable Housing undertook an extensive renovation to modernize the building to reduce utility costs and improve resident comfort.
The project serves seniors earning up to 30%, 40%, and 60% of area median income. There are 141 studio and one bedroom units, including 29 assisted living units. Amenities include a computer lab, salon, dining room, commercial kitchen, and community room. The total development cost was $21.4M and includes permanent funding from Enterprise Community Investments, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, Washington State Housing Trust Fund, and a HUD Flexible Subsidy Loan. There are contracts with the Yakima Housing Authority and HUD to provide project based vouchers to all of the units. The project team included Environmental Works architects and Dawson Construction. Thank you to all our partners who made this project a success!
Residents gather in the Sun Tower dining room for the event
In December 2017, Mayor Jenny Durkan and the City of Seattle announced affordable housing funding awards for projects across the City of Seattle, including Filipino Community Village.
Filipino Community Village is a 94 unit project in Rainier Valley that will serve low-income seniors earning up to 30%, 50%, and 60% of area median income. The project is sponsored by the Filipino Community of Seattle (FCS) in partnership with HumanGood Affordable Housing, Beacon Development Group’s parent company. Beacon will act as the developer for the project.
The project will include community and amenity spaces for residents as well as non-housing space for an Innovative Learning Center to provide computer access and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) programming from young people in the Rainier Valley. The project is located immediately adjacent to the existing FCS Community Center, where residents will have access to FCS’s food bank, community activities, and other programming.
More on the project and the funding announcement as covered by the Seattle Weekly. The project is scheduled to break ground in 2019.
Filipino Community of Seattle Executive Director Sheila Burrus speaks at the City press conference.
Conceptual rendering of Filipino Community Village (current Filipino Community of Seattle community center in foreground)
Members of Beacon Development Group and HumanGood at the groundbreaking.
The Rotarians of South San Francisco and HumanGood were joined by community members, elected officials and the development team to mark the start of construction for Rotary Miller Avenue Senior Housing. The project, an 81-unit new construction development in the heart of South San Francisco, is built on donated land from the city. Rotary Miller Avenue will serve predominately seniors with one-bedroom apartments and create a community focused on aging in place. Construction officially started in July 2017 and the project is expected to be completed in October 2018.
About 30 miles south of the Rotary Miller Avenue, Life’s Garden Apartment in Sunnyvale recently passed it’s 50% completion mark. Construction started in September 2016 to bring a full rehabilitation to the senior serving community originally constructed in 1974. The low-rise 208-unit garden community is composed of 8 inter-connected two-story buildings. To accommodate the scale of the development, the project is divided into 8 phases. At the 50% completion mark, phases 1-4 with 106-units have been renovated and phase 5 with 28-units is currently underway. The project is anticipated to be completed in September 2018.
On Oct. 15, County Executive Dow Constantine, the Housing Development Consortium, and Laborers Local 242 partnered to host an event in support of the Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy, which will be on the ballot on Nov. 7. The levy strengthens our communities by providing job training, employment opportunities, and housing stability to veterans, seniors, domestic violence survivors, and more. The levy extends existing efforts that have proven effective in reducing unemployment, homelessness, and emergency medical costs.
Labor and housing advocates have joined together to support this important cause. Partners from labor include Laborers Local 242, IAM 751, Teamsters Joint Council 28, and others.
To find out more about how you can support the levy, please visit https://yesonprop1.com/ or http://www.housingconsortium.org/vshsl/.
County Executive Dow Constantine, Prop 1 Campaign Manager Ross Cohen, BDG VP Brian Lloyd, and Local 242 Political Director Dale Bright celebrate HDC and Local 242’s donations to the Levy. Other organizations and friends present included Compass Housing Alliance, El Centro de la Raza, Teamsters Joint Council, IAM 751, and Laborers 440.
Beacon Development Group is excited to share that El Centro de la Raza’s Plaza Roberto Maestas has been awarded the 2017 AIA/HUD Secretary’s Housing and Community Design Award for Creating Community Connections. In addition, the project has received an honorable mention for the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition’s Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards in the Metropolitan/Urban category and a 2017 Award of Merit for Affordable Housing in PCBC’s Golden Nugget Awards.
We are honored that Plaza Roberto Maestas has been recognized as one of the most outstanding affordable housing projects in the country.
Plaza Roberto Maestas is a landmark equitable transit-oriented development project in Beacon Hill, Seattle. The project incorporates the community’s vision into a new mixed-use development in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. Completed in September 2016, Plaza Roberto Maestas consists of two six-story buildings that flank an outdoor plaza, which opens onto a Festival Street adjacent to a light rail station.
Through nearly eight years of planning with the community, El Centro de la Raza transformed a surfacing parking lot into a multicultural hub for the neighborhood that incorporates 112 units of affordable housing, local small business retail and office, community space, and a bilingual child development center. Plaza Roberto Maestas directly addresses the urgent need for affordable housing and economic opportunity and is a model for community-inspired transit-oriented development. The project currently houses 291 individuals, including 133 children, and serves a diverse population that includes family, workforce, and senior residents.
Beacon Development Group served as El Centro de la Raza’s development consultant on this innovative project, working alongside SMR Architects and Walsh Construction. Congratulations to El Centro de la Raza and the entire team on this inspiring project and well-deserved recognition!
Members of the Beacon Development Group team were active and present at this year’s Housing California Conference in Sacramento. The annual conference held on March 9th – 10th brought together professionals from across the state and nation. Participants engaged in a wide range of topics, including how property management should respond to ICE (immigration) agents and the rights of their residents, displacement policies in Oakland, and tracking progress and the impact of proposed federal tax changes on affordable housing. The conference theme for this year was “Block by Block: Improving Neighborhood Health.”
The conference key note speaker, Dr. Doug Jutte, Executive Director of Building Healthy Places, presented on the intersection of housing and health. Dr. Jutte argued that health happens outside of the doctor’s office and noted that “zip-code is a greater determinate in health than any other factor.” According to Jutte, the United States spends $3.3 trillion a year on health – 80% of the expenses attributed to chronic disease, most of which are prevalent in low-income communities and are preventable. Dr. Jutte’s work focuses on improving the health outcomes through collaborations with community developers. Learn more about the work of Building Health Places here.
Speakers also included National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Diane Yentel and Housing advocate Janny Castillo. The conference had a record setting attendance and featured numerous inspiring speakers and informative sessions on best practices in affordable housing development and operations. The keynote speeches and content from the conference can be found on the Housing California website.
BDG’s Kion Sawney and Chad Wakefield of Overland Pacific Cutler, who is part of the Life’s Garden project team in Sunnyvale, CA
Keynote speaker Dr. Doug Jutte of Building Healthy Places