Happy 25th to Century Villages at Cabrillo!

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Earlier this month, we celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Century’s stewardship of the Villages at Cabrillo at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. More than 200 guests joined us representing our myriad stakeholders that have contributed to the creation of this special community over the years.  A community premised on housing and serving some of our most vulnerable and marginalized community members.

Brian D’Andrea, Senior Vice President of Housing, said, “Century Villages at Cabrillo is a community catalyzed by Judge Pregerson and which continues to be inspired by his legacy.  It is a community that has been enriched and fortified by an incredible collection of public and private agencies and has become a nationwide model thanks to the tireless work of our operations team including property management, resident services, and community engagement.”

During the program we awarded two special honorees: our longtime and recently retired Century board member Earl Fields along with Wells Fargo. These honorees have inspired us with their insight and generosity. And they call us to continued action and compassion in furtherance of our mission.

Director of Fund Development Christine Byrne said, “Last night’s event raised capital for our Oasis Residential Services team which provides transformative case management, enrichment and engagement services to our residents. We are reminded that this is challenging work which occurs one resident at a time.”

Photo credit: @kathryncolbyphotography

Thank you Wells Fargo

Thank you, Wells Fargo, for $125k award!

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Thank you Wells Fargo

Century headed into the summer with the renewed support of one of our longest and strongest financial partners: Wells Fargo! A $125,000 award will support ongoing efforts to preserve and build affordable housing at three Century developments: the Villages at Cabrillo (CVC, Long Beach), One San Pedro (OSP, San Pedro), and the West LA VA Campus (WLA, Los Angeles).

Across these three sites, Century has more than 1,500 units of affordable housing planned over the next 15+ years.

“Wells Fargo has been a fantastic partner to the Villages for many years,” CVC Executive Director Steve Colman said. “We are incredibly grateful for the ongoing support, which has allowed us to continue meeting our primary goal: to keep Veterans, seniors, and families with children housed.”

Century has recently obtained site plan approval and critical funding commitments from the County of Los Angeles and the City of Long Beach for The Cove, the latest development phase at the Villages. This project will add 90 supportive homes to the 27-acre supportive housing community, which currently houses more than 1,500 individuals who have previously experienced homelessness.

In addition to developing affordable and permanent supportive housing, Century provides mission driven property management, along with residential services that help residents remain successfully housed, live independently, and progress toward self-sufficiency at the Villages. Century will eventually offer these critical services at both One San Pedro and the West LA VA Campus when they open.

NPT best nonprofit to work for 2021

Century Makes 2021 Best Nonprofits to Work For List

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NPT best nonprofit to work for 2021

We are honored that, once again, Century made the 2021 Best NonProfits to Work For list! The list is published annually by The NonProfit Times, the leading national business publication for nonprofit management. Participating nonprofits were vetted via a host of surveys, including employees, managers and outside vendors.

In this national competition, Century was ranked Number 10 among its peer medium organizations and Number 21 among all nonprofit organizations. Century employees were very positive in the survey comments, noting that “Century is responsive, with compliments, encouragement, and financial incentives.” Another stated they felt “respected” and that “leadership works very hard and are ethical.”

Fern Hendrickson, Century’s Vice President of Human Resources, told the The NonProfit Times, “To protect employees after the pandemic outbreak, CHC staff who could, worked remotely. Some staff are back working one to two days a week in the office but others—particularly those in supportive housing developments—cannot work remotely because they’re considered essential. More people are working remotely because we have learned that we can do this and meet our obligations.” Fern added, “People are under a great deal of pressure during the pandemic. This allows them time to take care of Zoom school, and parents and grandparents.”

“Like many Best Nonprofits, CHC would typically have a number of employee gatherings in person throughout the year, whether it was a summer kickoff barbecue, Thanksgiving feast, celebrations of birthdays or service anniversaries. “We miss all that since the pandemic,” Hendrickson said, and leadership has promised the biggest party yet once it’s safe to do so.”

This is Century’s fourth time making the list, reflecting Century’s positive alignment with our mission and our culture.

Century Wins Environmental Finance Municipal Bond of the Year

Century Housing Municipal Bond Awarded Sustainability Bond of the Year

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Century Wins Environmental Finance Municipal Bond of the Year

Century Housing’s 2020 Sustainability Bond, which raised $85 million to directly support quality affordable housing throughout California, today received the Sustainability Bond of the Year Award from Environmental Finance in the US muni bond category. These Awards seek to recognize those bonds that excel, innovate in and contribute to the successful development of the market for environmental bonds.

With its June 2020 bond offering, which was twelve times over-subscribed receiving more than $1 billion in orders, Century Housing became the first Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) to come to market with a municipal bond CUSIP. Century was also the first CDFI to be rated by two leading public credit rating agencies, Fitch and S&P (rated AA and AA-, respectively). The bond carried a second-party opinion by Sustainalytics attesting to both the environmental and social benefits of the housing created and preserved by this bond. Underwritten and marketed by Wells Fargo Securities as sole manager and offered through the California Municipal Finance Authority, the bond was California tax exempt and federally taxable.

Alan Hoffman, Senior Vice President and CFO of Century Housing, said, ”It is heartening to see the overwhelming investor interest in affordable housing, especially at a time when the COVID pandemic exposes how vulnerable our low-income families, seniors, and veterans really are to the lack of safe, secure, quality housing. We are honored that the Environmental Finance Bond Awards’ judges have recognized Century for its ability to innovate and execute with this bond and hope that the award also reflects our commitment to sustainable, energy-efficient affordable housing in a time of tremendous need.”

Century provides financing for all stages in the development of affordable housing including acquisition, bridge, construction and permanent loans. For more than 25 years, Century’s expertise and quick, reliable execution have allowed affordable housing developers to secure the financing they need, including all-important early stage financing, allowing them to take advantage of programs including Low Income Housing Tax Credits and current COVID-related federal aid like Project Homekey.

More about the award at the Environmental Finance site.

Looking Back on 2020

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As we reflect back on a challenging 2020, we’d like to recount a sampling of the Century team’s proudest achievements. These accomplishments reflect the best of Century’s values, advancing our mission of making homes the cornerstone of a thriving and just society.

  • Century celebrates 25 years of service with two $25,000 donations to charter schools that we established and helped operate. Both schools are located in Inglewood and serve low income, minority communities. Find out more at https://century.org/25th/
  • Century closed loans totaling approximately $209M, which will create and preserve 4,544 affordable homes for families, seniors, and veterans at a average affordability of 46.5% of AMI and will help create more than 4,400 construction jobs. We continue to be the highest volume CDFI lender to affordable and workforce housing in the State.
  • Our remarkable Century Villages at Cabrillo staff responded rapidly to the pandemic to provide supportive services, community engagement activities, and property management services, addressing the acute needs of their vulnerable population. This included the coordination and deployment of COVID resources for residents including masks, COVID testing, food vouchers, Internet access, and more, resulting in one of the lowest infection rates compared to similar shared living areas.
  • Century was assigned a ‘AA’ Rating with a stable outlook by Fitch Ratings, one of the major nationally recognized financial rating organization. This rating joins our current S&P Global’s AA- rating and makes Century the first CDFI to be rated by both Fitch and S&P.
  • Century issued $85 million in ESG municipal CUSIP bonds to advance our mission throughout the state of California, becoming the first CDFI to come to market with a municipal bond CUSIP. The third-party opinion by Sustainalytics attests to both the environmental and social benefits that will be created by the homes made possible by these bonds.
  • Our Long Beach development, The Beacon, received numerous prestigious awards, including SCANPH Development of the Year, AIA-LA Residential Architecture Award, PCBC Gold Nugget Grand Award, and Multi-Housing News Excellence Award.
  • In July, a required VA public hearing took place, which cleared the path for development activities at the West LA VA campus. Century and partners Thomas Safran & Associates (TSA) and U.S.VETS continued advocacy for the West LA Campus Improvements Act, which was introduced to Congress by Senator Feinstein in the fall. TSA broke ground on Building 207 and the Dry Utility Trunkline. Visit wlavc.org to learn more.
  • Century and partners, HACLA, Richman Group, and National CORE submitted the One San Pedro Transformation Plan to This plan was the result of extensive hands-on community outreach, planning and design work, and due diligence and assessment activities. It will pave the way for future development activities, including up to 1,400 homes, parks and open space, and commercial and supportive service space. Find out more at www.onesanpedro.org

 

The Beacon Wins at SCANPH

The Beacon Honored with SCANPH’s Award for Overall Excellence

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The Beacon Wins at SCANPH

 

We are proud to share that our Long Beach development, The Beacon, was awarded Multi-Family Development of the Year by SCANPH at the Annual Conference’s Homes Within Reach Awards Ceremony. The award recognizes excellence in affordable housing among projects completed in the last year. Selections are submitted by SCANPH members and chosen by an independent jury of professionals from throughout SCANPH’s regional footprint.

The Beacon, home to veterans, formerly homeless people, and very-low-income seniors, is centrally located directly across from a Metro Blue Line stop and two high-frequency bus lines and serves as a physical gateway to Downtown Long Beach. Opened in 2019, The Beacon features a new bus shelter and approach, community rooms, barbecue areas, and computer rooms, with wrap around social services provided through Mental Health America. Beacon is a mixed-use project with 6,200 square feet of retail along Long Beach Boulevard.

“Century is extremely proud of our Beacon Project providing 160 beautiful and much needed affordable homes to veterans and vulnerable seniors,” said Brian D’Andrea, Senior Vice President of Century. “Beyond homes, The Beacon will provide residents with supportive services and connectivity to job and service centers via the Metro light rail and local bus lines. We thank all our partners for making Beacon possible, especially Wells Fargo, KPRS and The Architects Collective. We are most thankful to the City of Long Beach for its financial and overall support through its amazing Development Services and Housing Authority teams.”

The Beacon wins PCBC Golden Nugget

The Beacon Shines With PCBC Gold Nugget Grand Award

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The Beacon wins PCBC Golden Nugget

Century’s commitment to exceptionally-designed affordable housing was recognized with a PCBC Gold Nugget Grand Award for Best Affordable Senior Housing Community presented to our Long Beach development, The Beacon. The seven-story, 121-unit building, centrally located near public transit and serving as a physical gateway to Downtown Long Beach, overcame a series of funding and approval obstacles before it opened in 2019. It is now home to very-low-income seniors making less than 50% of AMI. Community rooms, barbecue areas, and computer rooms add to the quality of life for residents, with social services provided through Mental Health America.

“The Beacon exemplifies Century’s effort to provide quality, sustainably-built affordable homes that are near transit and developed in collaboration with the surrounding community and the City of Long Beach, which played an integral role in making this happen. We are especially excited for the low-income seniors who will benefit from access to Downtown Long Beach and many other resources connected to the Metro Blue Line,” said Brian D’Andrea, Senior Vice President of Century.

PCBC’s 57th annual Gold Nugget Awards, held virtually this year, recognize excellence in architectural design and planning achievements. A panel of top industry experts reviewed nearly 600 entries from around the world spanning more than 50 categories.

LABBC Award logo and header signifying Innovation Award Winners

Century Wins LABBC 2020 Innovation Award!

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LABBC Award logo and header signifying Innovation Award Winners

We are proud to announce that Los Angeles Better Building Challenge has honored Century Housing with the 2020 Innovation Award: Affordable Multifamily Performance Project of the Year for the efficiency standards reached at two Century-developed affordable communities: Florence Avenue Villas and Morehouse. Century’s rehabilitation work resulted in a 54% energy reduction at Florence, and 40% energy reduction at Morehouse.

Oscar Alvarado, Century’s Vice President of Development, said, “We strive to exceed the state’s Title 24 Efficiency Standards and by developing sustainable communities that reduce electricity, gas and water consumption we’re doing our part to reduce our environmental footprint for our residents and their children.”

Learn more about the strategies utilized to plan and finance the upgrades, which will improve living conditions for low-income residents, at the LABBC case study page.