Walker & Dunlop Uses LIHTC, HUD's 231 Program to Finance DC Affordable Housing

Walker & Dunlop has secured just over $10 million in financing for the redevelopment of a historic property in the District of Columbia into affordable housing.

The loan will enable the Spring Flats project, a historic property known as The Hebrew Home in Northwest Washington D.C., to move forward with construction with a targeted summer 2020 completion.

The adaptive re-use project will convert the building that’s located in the Petworth neighborhood, into 185 new affordable apartment units catering primarily to seniors and low-income residents, according to Walker & Dunlop.

Originally constructed in 1925, The Hebrew Home served as a nursing home until 1968, when it was purchased by the District of Columbia and converted into a community health center.

Vacant since 2009, the restoration project will include energy-efficient upgrades and is designed to achieve a LEED certification. Approximately 88 of the 185 units will benefit from the adaptive reuse rehabilitation loan totaling $10,129,500.

Rob Rotach, senior director in Walker & Dunlop’s FHA finance group, said the 40-year, fixed rate loan came together using combination of funding sources, including Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity and proceeds from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 231 loan program. The New York and Chicago HUD offices helped complete the transaction.

“This was a complex financing with a lot of moving parts,” Rotach said in prepared remarks. “We were fortunate to be working with such dedicated and experienced partners.”

Among them are property co-developers: Victory Housing, Brinshore Development, and Banc of America CDC.

Walker & Dunlop closed over $1.3 billion in transaction volume for projects geared toward affording housing in 2019.