The Chicago office of financial services company Merchants Capital announced it recently secured more than $26 million in financing for the acquisition of Island Terrace, an affordable apartment complex in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. The project is located across from the planned Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
After acquisition, the borrower, Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. (POAH), plans to syndicate the property with a tax credit structure utilizing both a four percent and nine percent LIHTC, making Island Terrace one of the first housing properties to utilize this unique type of financing. Upon syndication, all 240 units will be divided into two condominiums, with 178 units housed in the four percent LIHTC condo and 62 units in the nine percent LIHTC condo.
“We are proud to have served as the financing partner for this important project in Chicago,” said Emmett Donovan, senior vice president at Merchants Capital. “Merchants Capital is committed to preserving and expanding affordable housing options across the United States, and our work on this project strongly exemplifies that commitment.”
Separately, Merchants Capital’s real estate equity team, in partnership with First Merchants Bank, The National Bank of Indianapolis, and Merchants Bank of Indiana, announced the closing of Indiana Social Impact Housing Equity Fund II, LP. The $2.7 million fund targets large scale revitalization of vacant single-family homes in traditionally disinvested neighborhoods in and around downtown Indianapolis.
“We’d like to thank our investor partners, First Merchants Bank, The National Bank of Indianapolis and Merchants Bank of Indiana who share our belief that coming together towards a common goal will make the difference our community needs” said Julie Sharp, senior vice president of Merchants Capital, the fund’s managing general partner.
