Evergreen Real Estate Services has announced the recent completion of Sangamon Terrace Apartments, a new four-story building providing 24 units of affordable senior housing near 63rd and Halsted streets in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. Sangamon Terrace marks a significant investment in new senior housing construction for the neighborhood and is the nation’s last new-construction housing mixed-finance HUD 202 project.
Located at 6145 S. Sangamon Terrace, the $8.8 million Sangamon Terrace development received $4.3 million through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Section 202 program, which was created in 1959 to finance the development and preservation of supportive housing for low-income seniors. Although Section 202 still provides rental assistance to residents of existing communities, funding for new construction has not been available since 2012.
One of only three mixed-finance 202 projects ever developed in Illinois, Sangamon Terrace also received an additional $3.1 million in low-income housing tax credits – administered by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) – and $1.4 million from a City of Chicago HOME loan. Evergreen Real Estate Services structured and closed the mixed-finance transaction in collaboration with its affordable housing development affiliate, VeriGreen Residential Development.
“Fortunately for Englewood-area seniors, we were able to receive approval and structure financing for Sangamon Terrace Apartments before the HUD 202 program for new developments was defunded,” said Stephen Rappin, president of Chicago-based Evergreen Real Estate Services, the developer and property manager of the building. “Sangamon Terrace adds 24 affordable senior housing residences to one of the neighborhoods that need it most, underscoring the city’s commitment to the revitalization of Englewood. Residents will also benefit from the major new investment made by the City of Chicago in Englewood Square, a Whole Foods-anchored retail complex across the street.”
Sangamon Terrace is connected by a ground-level corridor to the adjacent 123-unit Bethel Terrace, an existing senior housing community that is also managed by Evergreen Real Estate Services. “The new building was designed so Bethel Terrace residents could benefit from sharing resources like Sangamon Terrace’s support staff and community space,” said Rappin. “Additionally, new landscaping, green areas and a large terrace were installed between the two buildings, and the lobby and common areas of Bethel Terrace were renovated to better serve the needs of existing residents. It was a win-win for both properties.”
Sangamon Terrace adds to the development activity at the intersection of 63rd and Halsted streets. Whole Foods Market plans to open an 18,000-square-foot store across the street from the senior housing community in August 2016 in a new retail center that will also house Chipotle and Starbucks, among other tenants. And next door to the senior housing building is the 40-acre, six-building Kennedy-King College campus, part of City Colleges of Chicago, which completed construction in 2007.
Structuring a project with funds that originate from and are regulated by two different federal agencies requires carefully coordinating program requirements, design challenges and underwriting issues unique to these two programs in a single development. “HUD has one set of very prescriptive guidelines for unit sizes and building amenities, and IHDA has another,” Rappin said.
To meet the sometimes conflicting guidelines, Rappin noted that Evergreen relied on its extensive knowledge of regulations and its ability to propose creative compromises. “We proposed a financing structure that ensured the funds were applied where mandated, so that the development project easily would pass auditing processes at the completion of construction,” he said. “Mixed-finance 202 projects are much more complex legally and financially than either a standard 202 or a standard tax credit project.”
Residents at Sangamon Terrace Apartments are seniors age 62 or older. Each unit includes one bedroom, a full bathroom, living/dining room and an open kitchen. The new building also includes a large community room and laundry facilities.
The Sangamon Terrace project team included Chicago-based firms Harley Ellis Devereaux as project architect, The Richman Group Affordable Housing Corp. as tax credit syndicator, Citi Community Capital as construction lender and Joseph J. Duffy Co. as general contractor. “The development of Sangamon Terrace met and in some cases exceeded all City of Chicago goals for minority- and women-owned contracting, local hiring and small business support,” Rappin said. “Providing economic opportunity for all is a key part of the redevelopment strategy in this cornerstone of the Englewood neighborhood.”
About Evergreen Real Estate Services
Founded in 1999, Chicago-based Evergreen Real Estate Group manages and owns more than 6,000 units of affordable and market-rate multifamily apartments for both seniors and families across eight states: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, North Carolina, Tennessee, Montana and Colorado. For more information on the company, visit www.evergreenres.com.
Sangamon Terrace Apartments, a new-construction affordable senior housing project near 63rd and Halsted streets, opens in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood.