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.

Welcome J.P. and Barry!

Posted by beacon on Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 1:26 PM

Beacon, California, Washington

Beacon Development Group welcomes our newest team members, J.P. and Barry!

J.P. Stocco, Deputy Director of Development, CA Office

J.P. leads Beacon’s California Office, overseeing all aspects of planning and development for projects throughout the State. As a member of the Leadership Team, J.P. jointly manages the development pipeline, supervising staff and projects in development. He possesses over ten years of affordable housing project management experience working on complex publicly funded projects across the United States. Prior to joining Beacon, J.P. served as the Senior Acquisitions, Project & Asset Manager for THC Affordable Housing, Inc. in Washington, DC. In this position he established policies and procedures for an asset management system, completed an extensive permanent supportive housing rehabilitation project and one of the first Passive House energy-efficient buildings, and negotiated a successful joint venture with a national for-profit affordable housing developer. As Principal/Broker for Skyline Realty Advisors in California since 2006, J.P. has gained deep experience in financial modeling, budget analysis, construction services, market analysis and lease-up of multi-family development in California. He holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine. Outside of work J.P. enjoys snow skiing and stand-up paddle boarding with his wife and daughter, and photographing landscapes.

Barry Baker, Senior Housing Developer, WA Office

Barry manages a variety of complex publicly funded projects for clients at Beacon in Washington State. As project manager, he oversees all aspects of development, from feasibility analysis to financial packaging to construction completion and close-out. He brings over two decades of real estate experience to his role at Beacon, having worked in property development, management, finance and software development. Most recently Barry served as Development Officer at Community Development, Inc. in Caldwell, ID, where he managed multi-family affordable housing development projects across the United States. Prior to Community Development, Inc., he invented, brought to market and licensed loan management software for real estate companies and worked as the Director of Finance at Brighton Corporation. At Brighton he was responsible for the sourcing and management of the financing for land holdings and buildings, specializing in big box retail, residential subdivision development, production home building, and office development. Barry holds an MBA from the University of Oregon and a BBA from Pacific Lutheran University. In his free time, Barry enjoys playing soccer, travel and boating.

PRM Reaches Important Construction Milestone

Posted by beacon on Tue, May 19, 2015 at 12:18 PM

Construction, Family Housing, Sustainable Buildings, Urban/Mixed Use, Washington

Concrete Footings on the East Building of PRM

As of today, all of the concrete footings for El Centro de la Raza’s Plaza Roberto Maestas (PRM) are poured! The Walsh Construction team has been fortunate to have only a few days of wet weather since work began on April 10^th. This has allowed for quick movement through demolition, excavation and concrete work. It also means we are through the dirt portion of the project with relatively few surprises – a great place to be early on in a large development like PRM!

PRM is an exciting new mixed-use transit oriented community featuring 112 units of affordable housing, a seven classroom expansion for El Centro’s Jose Marti Child Development Center, a multi-cultural community center, neighborhood retail/restaurant space, office space and a central plaza for micro-business, events and enjoyment of the surrounding campus and community. Most of the apartments at PRM will be two- or three-bedrooms to address the critical shortage of affordable family-sized rental housing in the City of Seattle.

Plaza Roberto Maestas will be complete in July 2016. Please visit the project website here for more information.

West Building Festival St Facade Web Edit

West Building Festival Street Facade – Future Neighborhood Retail/Restaurant Space(s)

Paul Purcell wins Cyber Choice Mirror Ball Trophy at Plymouth’s Seattle Dances!

Posted by beacon on Fri, May 15, 2015 at 1:24 PM

Awards & Recognition, Beacon, Special Needs, Washington

Paul & Deron in Action!

This spring Paul Purcell, President of Beacon, participated in Plymouth Housing Group’s Seattle Dances! Modeled after the national TV sensation Dancing with the Stars, the event matches local leaders with professional dancers to compete and raise funds for Plymouth’s mission of providing permanent homes and services for the homeless in Seattle. Paul trained for 10 weeks with his professional partner, Deron Hayes-Hirschy to prepare for the big night!

Enjoying the Cyber Choice Mirror Ball Trophies!

We are excited to report that Paul and his partner Deron won the Cyber Choice Mirror Ball; for the celebrity dance couple who raises the most money online before the event. Collectively, the eight celebrity dance couples raised over $53,000 in online votes for Plymouth Housing Group. Overall, the 6th annual Seattle Dances gala brought together 460 generous guests who gave an incredible $442,000! Congratulations Plymouth Housing Group on another great event!

Beacon is proud to have worked with Plymouth on the Pat Williams Apartments and on the recently funded 7th & Cherry project.

News at Beacon

Posted by beacon on Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 9:53 AM

Beacon, California, Washington

Beacon is excited to share that it recently formed a new strategic alliance with American Baptist Homes of the West (ABHOW). ABHOW has been a client and partner of Beacon for many years, and has provided senior affordable housing in Washington since 1997. They are a large, mission-driven nonprofit housing provider dedicated to housing seniors and the disabled, based in California.

Our alliance is founded on shared values and a common mission to grow affordable housing. ABHOW is acquiring Beacon to draw on our expertise in developing diverse types of affordable housing and Beacon will benefit from the stability that a larger organization provides. Together, we’ll work to continue our core work of affordable housing consulting and expand affordable housing opportunities up and down the West Coast.

We will continue to be Beacon Development Group with the same mission, same leadership, same staff, and same diverse set of services. Our core business will remain affordable housing development in Washington and the Northwest. In addition, we will work with ABHOW to enhance its development opportunities in California, Arizona, Oregon and Idaho.

As always, we will continue to provide the highest level of service and professionalism you know and expect of us.

Answers to Questions You May Have

Why is ABHOW interested in Beacon?

ABHOW saw a shared set of values and an aligned mission to develop affordable housing for low-income households. Looking to expand affordable housing for seniors in California and the West, they see Beacon’s development expertise as an opportunity to assist in this goal.

Why is Beacon interested in affiliating with ABHOW? Why are you doing this?

Established in 1949, ABHOW is a large, well-respected 65 year-old nonprofit housing provider that shares our values of providing affordable housing. At the same time they provide a broader market for our services and a more stable funding base for the long-term operations of Beacon. By having a broader footprint, Beacon can provide more stability to our staff and clients, expand our services, and provide an organizational base for the long-term leadership and financial strength of the organization.

Will Paul Purcell remain the leader of Beacon?

Yes. Paul will remain as President.

Does this mean Beacon will move to California?

No. We will continue at our same location, based here in Seattle, Washington.

Will your services change?

No. All our services will stay the same. Down the road, we hope to be able to utilize the health care experience of ABHOW in their Continuum of Care Residential Communities to expand our integration of health care and affordable housing.

Will Beacon’s staff change?

No. All of our staff will remain in their current positions. We will be hiring additional staff in California to assist with a pipeline of projects that ABHOW has in development there.

What will change?

Beacon Development Group will become a nonprofit LLC and remain a separate but affiliated organization within ABHOW.

What will not Change?

Our commitment to our clients, to excellence, to collaboration, to professionalism, to advocacy and to the low income communities we are honored to serve.

Casa Kino Featured in Affordable Housing Finance Magazine

Posted by beacon on Fri, Nov 14, 2014 at 1:52 PM

Agricultural Workers, Family Housing, Press, Sustainable Buildings, Washington

Washington Developer Continues to Serve Farmworkers

By, Christine Serlin

Central Washington state has a robust agriculture industry, accounting for 20 percent to 25 percent of the region’s total economy.

Farmworkers are a critical part of that economy, handpicking crops, such as asparagus, cherries, and apples. But affordable housing can be scarce in rural areas, and these needed laborers are forced to live in overcrowded or unsafe conditions.

But Yakima, Wash.–based Catholic Charities Housing Services (CCHS) is helping to provide more safe, affordable housing opportunities for farmworkers one project at a time in the seven-county area where it works.

“The need for farmworker housing is acute throughout central Washington,” says CCHS director Bryan Ketcham.

To read the whole article click here.

HACPFC’s Fourth & Pearl Family Housing Breaks Ground

Posted by beacon on Mon, Nov 3, 2014 at 2:56 PM

Agricultural Workers, Construction, Family Housing, Sustainable Buildings, Washington

Housing Authority of the City of Pasco and Franklin County’s vacant Fourth & Pearl site before construction started

Over the summer the Housing Authority of the City of Pasco and Franklin County (HACPFC) broke ground on their newest community located at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Pearl Street in Pasco, WA.

According to Andy Anderson, Executive Director of the HACPFC, “We are eager to bring quality affordable housing to Pasco. The new community, Fourth and Pearl Family Housing, is being developed on land owned by the Housing Authority for more than 60 years. It has stood vacant for more than 40 years, since the former World War II Navy housing was demolished. We are pleased to help the City of Pasco improve one of its gateways to downtown Pasco by building this new community.”

The new 40-unit community is designed to accommodate large families with 24 two-bedroom units, 12 three-bedroom units, and two four-bedroom units. Thirteen apartments will be rented to families who earn less than 40% of area median income (AMI) and twenty-five apartments will be rented to families who earn less than 50% of AMI.

The Housing Authority will market the project to agricultural workers employed in the Pasco community and surrounding areas. Far too often these hardworking families live in dilapidated and substandard housing.

ZBA Architects designed the project and Walker Construction is the general contractor. Beacon is providing development services. Cascade Management, Inc. will be the property manager.

Numerous public and private sources provided funding for the project. Wells Fargo is the construction lender. The Washington State Department of Commerce contributed $5 million from the state Housing Trust Fund. The Washington State Housing Finance Commission provided 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits that the National Equity Fund purchased in exchange for $2.9 million in equity. And the City of Pasco supplied $50,000 of Community Development Block Grant funds to support public infrastructure around the project.

As of September HACPFC was 40% complete on the construction of Fourth and Pearl Family Housing and is looking forward to opening in the spring of 2015!

Fourth & Pearl Family Housing – 40% Complete

Beacon Receives Friend of Housing Award

Posted by beacon on Wed, Oct 15, 2014 at 11:53 AM

Awards & Recognition, Beacon, Washington

Paul Purcell, President of Beacon, and staff, accepting the Friend of Housing award from Gabe Spencer, WSHFC Commissioner

Beacon was honored this year to receive a Friend of Housing award at the annual Housing Washington conference that took place last week in Tacoma, WA. Each year since 1994 the Washington State Housing Finance Commission has bestowed this recognition on individuals or organizations who have demonstrated leadership and an exceptional commitment to affordable housing in Washington State. Beacon was privileged to receive this honor and to share the stage with five other outstanding recipients this year.

Paul Purcell, President of Beacon stated, “We are honored to receive this recognition of our team effort to serve the affordable housing community here in Washington State. We are fortunate to work with terrific clients and to support them in their service to those in need of affordable housing. I am proud of my team and we look forward to working on more great projects in the future with our excellent clients and partners.”

Beacon thanks the Washington State Housing Finance Commission for this esteemed recognition and looks forward to continuing the delivery of high quality affordable housing consulting services to nonprofits and public housing authorities throughout Washington State into the future.

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.

Casa Kino Grand Opening

Posted by beacon on Wed, Jul 23, 2014 at 11:50 AM

Agricultural Workers, Family Housing, Project Openings, Sustainable Buildings, Washington

Casa Kino, Quincy, WA

We are proud to announce that Catholic Charities Housing Services recently celebrated the opening of Casa Kino in Quincy, WA. Developed together with Beacon, Casa Kino is an affordable multi-family development consisting of 51 newly constructed 2- and 3-bedroom townhomes for agricultural workers and low-income families earning up to 30%, 40% and 50% percent of the area median income. The development complies with the Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard which emphasizes green building techniques. The apartments will save about 50% of the energy usage typical of standard construction through the use of structural Insulated Panels for exterior walls, increased ceiling/roof insulation, efficient windows and advanced sealing techniques in walls and openings. Water usage will also be greatly reduced by low-flow fixtures throughout the units and extensive “xeriscaping” landscaping in the development.

Beacon and CCHS staff members handing out soccer balls to the children at Casa Kino

It has been our privilege to work with Catholic Charities Housing Services of Yakima on this joint collaboration with designer, ZBA Architecture and general contractor, MC Lundgren Construction, Inc., to develop yet another quality affordable housing project for agricultural workers and their families. With a focus on comfort and safety for children on site, the community includes abundant outdoor recreational areas, a computer lab and multimedia center, classrooms and meeting rooms and a community building with centralized laundry and kitchen facilities. CCHS provides extensive services for families and children in the community building at the property.

The project cost $10.5 million and was financed with a tax credit equity investment from National Equity Fund® through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, and funding from the Washington State Department of Commerce Housing Trust Fund and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Housing Enhancement Fund, administered through the City of Quincy.

In celebration of the opening of Casa Kino Beacon staff gifted a soccer, basketball or volleyball to each apartment for kids and families to enjoy together. Paul Purcell, President of Beacon, was then quickly challenged to a soccer match after the festivities wrapped up (he lost!)

Watching the joy from the kids as they received the balls was priceless, as it reminded us what our work in affordable housing is all about – creating stable, safe and happy environments for children to grow and thrive in. Congratulations to Catholic Charities Housing Services on creating another great community for families in Central Washington!

Paul Purcell, President of Beacon, playing soccer with children at Casa Kino

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Washington Developer Continues to Serve Farmworkers