Kingsley Apartments, a planned 136-unit, 100% affordable property in Los Angeles’ popular Koreatown submarket, is closer to becoming a reality after landing $24.4 million in construction money.
Kian Investments, an entity controlled by Keren Management, secured $24.4 million to build Kingsley Apartments, a 136-unit affordable development, Commercial Observer has learned. Property records show Culver City-based Century Housing provided the 30-month loan, which comes with optional extensions and a secured overnight financing rate at plus 2.41%.
The financing was arranged by Jonathan Lee, Shahin Yazdi, William Hyatt and Tommy Adelson with Colliers Mortgage Structured Finance Group. The financing features a term of 30 months plus optional extensions and carries a rate of SOFR plus 2.41%. It has an LTC of 75%.
Leveraging the city’s new Executive Directive 1 initiative (ED 1), the sponsor plans to break ground in June 2024, just seven months after filing development plans.
In March of last year, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued ED 1 to dramatically accelerate the pace and lower the cost of building affordable housing throughout Los Angeles, with the ultimate goal of increasing the production of affordable homes. ED 1 expedites timelines and streamlines processes for approving, permitting, and issuing clearances for affordable housing projects. The directive applies to all shelter projects and 100% affordable housing developments that are under an active or valid City Planning application. At the time of submission for this project, approvals were completed within 90 days.
“Kingsley Apartments exemplifies ED 1’s impact in our community. We have a 100% affordable project in the heart of a dense urban community, with direct access to mass transit,” noted Lee “Since ED 1 is a relatively new initiative, many lenders have not yet fully evaluated the product to offer competitive terms. Throughout this process, several banks considered ED 1 to be ‘too early’ or offered terms in the 50-60% LTC range. Ultimately, we found a lender who understood the program and provided competitive terms and leverage.”
