First National Loan Fund Dedicated to Supportive Housing Launches with Investment in Housing for Veterans
New York, NY – August 21, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Today, CSH announces the launch of the Supportive Housing Solutions Fund, the first ever national loan fund dedicated solely to supportive housing, with an investment in Homes for Heroes. Located in Gary, Indiana, Homes for Heroes is symbolic of the fund’s overall goals, to reach underserved housing markets and infuse capital into supportive housing to meet the needs of the communities’ most vulnerable. Broadway Area CDC will receive a $414,000 predevelopment loan for Homes for Heroes to convert an abandoned building and vacant lot into a beautiful new 44-unit residence for veterans at risk of homelessness.
“This is a much needed project in our area and we would not be able to move forward without this lending opportunity,” said Vernita Leslie, Executive Director, Broadway Area CDC. “We are thrilled to be the first borrower of the Supportive Housing Solutions Fund and are very appreciative of CSH. The staff has been excellent to work with, and has helped us with this process so that closing a loan was not intimidating.”
The $45 million Solutions Fund is built on more than 20 years of CSH’s lending experience and involvement in local funds that have worked to bring public, private and philanthropic investors together.
“HSBC Bank is thrilled to partner with CSH in the launch of the Supportive Housing Solutions Fund,” said Kathleen Rizzo Young, Senior Vice President, Community Development. “The Fund’s innovative capital structure meets the needs of all stakeholders by maximizing community impact, offering flexible financing to supportive housing developers, and minimizing credit risk. HSBC’s $8.77 million participation in the Fund will help serve vulnerable residents in important markets like Los Angeles, CA and New York City, through the development of permanent supportive housing.”
The Solutions Fund started with an initial investment from the 2012 Wells Fargo NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance. CSH then engaged its longtime partners and philanthropic leaders the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as well as premier private sector investors – Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, HSBC Bank, and Morgan Stanley.
“We are thrilled to see this fund come to fruition with an investment in Homes for Heroes. CSH has long understood the importance of supportive housing as a solution for combating society’s toughest challenges and we are excited to have the support of philanthropy and the financial sector as we look to bring supportive housing to more communities across the country,” said CSH President and CEO Deborah De Santis.
“We are pleased to join CSH and our other partners in creating the Supportive Housing Solutions Fund,” said Audrey Choi, Managing Director and Head of Morgan Stanley Global Sustainable Finance. “Morgan Stanley’s investment in the fund reflects our continued commitment to building stronger communities, collaborating with philanthropic and other private sector partners to combine affordable housing with critically needed social services.”
Supportive housing is a platform for services that create opportunities for recovery, personal growth, and life-long success.
“RWJF has long believed in creating a comprehensive safety net for the most vulnerable among us,” said Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA. “By pairing stable, affordable housing with health and social services, CSH is helping individuals in need lead healthier and more stable lives.”
The Solutions Fund is designed to expand high-impact housing solutions across the country by providing acquisition, predevelopment, and construction funding for projects which include supportive housing targeted to very low income tenants who are most in need.
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About CSH For 20 years, CSH has led the supportive housing movement, demonstrating its potential to improve the lives of very vulnerable individuals and families. CSH has earned a sterling reputation as a highly effective, financially stable organization, with strong partnerships across government, community organizations, and foundations, and financial institutions.
CSH is advancing innovative solutions that use housing as a platform for services to improve lives, maximize public resources, and build healthy communities. We are working to assure that housing solutions are accessible to more people in more places.
About the other investors:
Bank of America: Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 52 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,400 retail banking offices and approximately 16,300 ATMs and award winning online banking with 30 million active users. Bank of America is among the world’s leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries.
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation: The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation was created in 1944 by international business pioneer Conrad N. Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotels and left his fortune to help the world’s disadvantaged and vulnerable people. The Foundation currently conducts strategic initiatives in six priority areas: providing safe water, ending chronic homelessness, preventing substance abuse, helping children affected by HIV and AIDS, supporting transition-age youth in foster care, and extending Conrad Hilton’s support for the work of Catholic Sisters. Following selection by an independent international jury, the Foundation annually awards the $1.5 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to a nonprofit organization doing extraordinary work to reduce human suffering. From its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than $1 billion in grants, distributing $83 million in the U.S. and around the world in 2012. The Foundation’s current assets are in excess of $2.2 billion. For more information, please visit www.hiltonfoundation.org .
Deutsche Bank: The Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation administers the philanthropic activities of Deutsche Bank within the United States, Latin America and Canada. Together, the Bank’s Community Development Finance Group and Foundation carry out the firm’s corporate citizenship commitments through a program of loans, investments and grants. Based in New York City, the Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that concentrate on community development, education and the arts.
Deutsche Bank works in partnership with local nonprofit organizations to provide distressed communities and disadvantaged individuals with opportunities for safe and affordable housing and economic advancement. The Foundation also seeks to enrich these communities by providing access to the arts, supporting local leaders and strengthening local organizations. The Bank relies on the talents of its employees and the leadership of its management to leverage its financial commitments in addressing local needs.
HSBC: HSBC Bank USA, National Association, with total assets of $183.9bn as of 31 March 2013 (US GAAP), serves 3 million customers through retail banking and wealth management, commercial banking, private banking, asset management, and global banking and markets segments. It operates more than 250 bank branches throughout the United States. There are over 165 in New York State as well as branches in: California; Connecticut; Delaware; Washington, D.C.; Florida; Maryland; New Jersey; Pennsylvania; Oregon; Virginia; and Washington State. HSBC Bank USA, N.A. is the principal subsidiary of HSBC USA Inc., an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. HSBC Bank USA, N.A. is a member of the FDIC.
Morgan Stanley: Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries. Since 2006, Morgan Stanley has executed more than $7 billion in loans and investments to strengthen underserved communities. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measurable, and timely change. For 40 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter www.rwjf.org/twitter or Facebook www.rwjf.org/facebook.
Wells Fargo NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance: The Wells Fargo NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance celebrate the CDFI industry—its creativity, accomplishments, and enduring importance. Launched in 2007, the NEXT Awards have celebrated the innovation of 30 of the nation’s most promising CDFIs by awarding $50.1 million through a competitive awards process over the last five years. It is the nation’s largest awards program for CDFIs and will award $8.35 million dollars through two award pools—The NEXT Opportunity Award and the NEXT Seed Capital Award—annually from 2012-2016 to high-performing CDFIs to expand their coverage strategies. Each year the NEXT Awards culminate in a ceremony at OFN’s Annual Conference to spotlight Awardees and the entire CDFI industry.
Contact Nancy McGraw 347-834-7622
