Dec 3 2007
San Francisco, California’s Mission Creek Senior Community, a mixed-use project funded in part by the CRA Qualified Investment Fund was recently named 2007’s “Best Urban Project” by readers of Affordable Housing Finance, one of the nation’s leading publications for developers and financers of affordable residential development. The award-winning project is home to 140 apartments for low-income seniors, as well as a number of community resources, including an adult health center, community room, and public library branch.
In addition to these community benefits, the complex was planned and constructed with environmental-sustainability in mind. The building is equipped with solar panels, which generate as much as 25% of the power used in common areas, as well as low-flow fixtures and piping for reclaimed water use for landscaping and toilets.
“It’s no surprise that the Mission Creek Senior Community has earned recognition as a successful urban development project,” said Todd Cohen, President and Chief Investment Officer of Community Capital Management, the Advisor to the CRA Qualified Investment Fund. “The complex provides housing opportunities for San Francisco’s low-income seniors while yielding community and environmental benefits. We’re delighted to invest in this project and optimistic that Mission Creek will make a positive impact in its neighborhood for many years to come.”
The bond that helped fund the project was issued by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA), a financing authority which works to improve the environment of the City through the removal of blight. The Mission Creek building, constructed on the site of a former rail yard, is located in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood.
In total, the project contains 140 rental housing units, 88 of which are reserved for senior residents earning no more than 50% of the area’s median income. Monthly rent in the complex is as much as 90% less than the neighborhood’s average.
Beyond providing affordable housing, Mission Creek is home to a new branch of the San Francisco Public Library – the library system’s first new branch in 40 years. The building also houses an Adult Day Health Center, which offers seniors key health and social services such as medical care, occupational therapy and physical therapy.
“We’re always on the lookout for investments that deliver multiple benefits to a community in need. When we first identified Mission Creek as a potential investment, we were impressed with the property’s broad range of uses. While it’s a residential community at the core, the community and social services offered in the complex will make a dramatic difference in the lives of residents and people in the surrounding neighborhood,” said Barbara VanScoy, Senior Portfolio Manager for the CRA Qualified Investment Fund.
The $750 million CRA Qualified Investment Fund is a high-credit quality, fixed income mutual fund that aims to deliver competitive financial performance while supporting community and economic development in neighborhoods across the nation. The Fund’s investments have helped finance environmentally-conscious projects throughout America, including the construction of energy-efficient mixed-use buildings, the revitalization of brownfield lands, and the restoration and reuse of historic buildings.