The Banning Groundbreaking

Mayor Eric Garcetti joins CADI for The Banning Groundbreaking

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The Banning Groundbreaking

The Banning, our first HHH development in the City of Los Angeles and a proud moment for Century, broke ground yesterday. For those that weren’t able to join us, it was a spectacular event that featured our Mayor, Eric Garcetti, State Senator Steven Bradford, Assemblymember Mike Gipson, our Board Chair Yvonne Burke and others. It was a morning filled with anticipation and hope for the beautiful homes we’ll create for families and households in need.

The Banning Groundbreaking

Brian D’Andrea, Senior Vice President of Century Housing, commented that “It feels like a small miracle that we arrived at this moment after 4.5 years of planning and predevelopment work. But ultimately, that small miracle is the byproduct of our many miracle workers at Century who contributed their passion, energy and talents to achieve and commemorate this milestone.”

“Through Proposition HHH, Angelenos funded opportunities for people to start anew. The Banning will provide more than just a place to stay, it will offer hope and stability,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Thank you to our partners and to the voters who believed in Proposition HHH.”

Supplementing City support, the County of Los Angeles provided No Place Like Home funds for The Banning. Together, these voter-approved programs have helped accelerate the rate of permanent housing development throughout Los Angeles and will help thousands of low-income and unhoused seniors, families, and individuals find a quality home with appropriate services available on-site.

The Banning is an all-new permanent supportive housing (PSH) development coming to the Los Angeles Harbor region neighborhood of Wilmington to provide 64 affordable homes for small families and individuals experiencing homelessness.

Early press coverage of the event:

New Wilmington housing complex for those who are homeless breaks ground – Daily News

Century Housing Breaks Ground on The Banning, 64 Supportive Apartment Homes for People Experiencing Homelessness in Wilmington (prnewswire.com)

First State of California CDFI Fund Approved

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Recently, Governor Newsom signed the 2022-23 CA state budget, which includes authorization of $50M to establish the California Investment and Innovation Fund, a state-level Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) fund. This is a great moment for CDFIs and the communities they serve. This investment will strengthen and further support the work of CDFIs that are actively engaged in supporting, building up and helping low-income under-resourced communities throughout California. 

CDFIs are community-based organizations that play a unique role in low-income, rural, urban, Native, and other communities that mainstream finance doesn’t traditionally reach. CDFIs have community development as their primary mission, and have a long history of successfully delivering affordable housing, supporting small businesses, and providing access to health care, and more.

“We have a first State of California CDFI Fund,” said Alan Hoffman, Senior Vice President and CFO of Century Housing. “As the challenges confronting California grow, from homelessness to environmental degradation to increasing social inequality, CDFIs have never been more important.  Historically underfunded, CDFI’s have struggled to access the financial resources they need to address these societal issues.  The California Investment and Innovation Fund will provide welcome and much needed support to CDFIs in pursuing their mission.” 

We appreciate everyone who worked hard to make this a reality, in particular the California Coalition for Community Investment (CCCI) for energizing the CDFI community behind this groundbreaking campaign.

New York Life logo over affordable development

New York Life Commits $50 Million in Long-Term Capital to Century

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New York Life logo over affordable development

New York Life, America’s largest and most admired mutual life insurer, announced a commitment of $50 million in long-term capital to Century Housing. Century serves as a vital capital provider in low-income communities across California and is dedicated to delivering responsible and affordable lending to mission-aligned customers. Century has invested more than $2.3 billion in the affordable housing sector, supporting more than 50,000 affordable housing units.

New York Life’s investment involves the purchase of 10-, 15-, and 20-year senior unsecured notes. The funds will be used to offer loans to developers for the acquisition and/or financing of affordable and workforce housing developments and for general corporate purposes.

“At Century, we see homes as the cornerstone of a thriving and just society,” said Alan Hoffman, chief financial officer at Century Housing Corporation. “We finance, build, and operate exceptional affordable housing so that the vulnerable people we serve may have a dignified home, a healthy and hopeful future, and attain economic independence. The long-term capital provided by New York Life will allow us to further our mission by continuing to build communities with proven social impact.”

This is the latest investment by New York Life’s $1 billion impact investment initiative announced in April 2021. The initiative is focused on addressing the racial wealth gap by investing in underserved and undercapitalized communities over the next three years with a focus on supporting small businesses, affordable housing, and community development.

“New York Life’s impact investment initiative will continue to partner with CDFIs like Century, diverse asset managers, and other mission-driven organizations to positively impact the affordable housing sector and beyond,” explained Martin King, managing director and head of impact investments at New York Life. “Our long-term impact investment strategy is to develop large-scale solutions and investment structures that aim to deliver broad and inclusive economic outcomes linked to job growth, health and wellness, and personal and household advancement.”

About Century’s investment offerings

 

Century California Fund Logo

Century Housing Announces The Century California Fund Investment Initiative

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Century California Fund Logo

Century Housing announces the Century California Fund (CCF) investment initiative to help close the gap in economic and social disparities in California.

Since its founding, Century has been focused on addressing the lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the communities it serves. Consistent with its mission, Century is making a further investment in underserved communities, specifically communities of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) who have been disproportionately impacted by lack of access to traditional lending, education, affordable housing, livable wages and small business opportunities.

With an initial seed investment of $8 million in the CCF fund, Century hopes to make a positive impact for underserved communities that typically have inadequate financial wealth to access higher education, or access to financing for business opportunities, affordable housing, or home ownership.

“We believe in closing racial wealth gaps, in access to higher education, living wages, lending and financial opportunities,” said Alan Hoffman, SVP, Century Housing. “The CCF initiative’s emphasis will include education, jobs, small business expansion, and affordable housing,” added Hoffman.

The inaugural theme for the CCF is the Century Educational Opportunity (CEO) grant. CCF’s pilot program is tackling the challenges facing under-resourced communities. We seek to empower students to enroll in vocational or trade school and invest in higher education to become the next generation of leaders, notably in the affordable housing financing and development sectors.

“The CEO grant program is in line with our mission, vision and values of Century, to help people stay housed, healthy, and have new opportunities”, said Ronald Griffith, President and CEO, Century Housing. “In addition, education reduces income inequality and increase intergenerational social mobility”, Mr. Griffith added.

The nine organizations receiving grants include California State University, Fullerton – Project Rebound, Coalition of Rural Housing (CCRH), Coalition for Responsible Community Development (CRCD), El Camino College, Japanese Community Youth Council (JCYC), Larkin Street Youth Services (LSYC), LifeSteps, Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) and Venice Community Housing (VCH).

“Coalition for Responsible Community Development is proud to be a recipient of the Century California Fund, which will help to support graduates of CRCD Academy, a partnership with Youth Build Charter School of California based in South Los Angeles, to use towards their post-secondary or continued education,” said Mark Wilson, president and CEO, CRCD.

“The California Coalition for Rural Housing is greatly honored to be included in the first cohort of nine Century Housing Fund awardees, statewide.  We will use the funds to provide scholarship assistance to aspiring or current university/college students from farmworker, tribal, and rural communities hard hit by the pandemic, wildfires, and income losses,” said Rob Weiner, President and CEO, CCRH.

Michael Fuller, Executive Director of Foundation for LACC adds, “The Foundation for the Los Angeles Community Colleges is proud to partner with Century California Fund in offering scholarships to LACCD student who will benefit by entering the workforce with good paying jobs that strengthen the social fabric of communities throughout Southern California.”

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.

Century Celebrates The Beacon

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Century Housing, in partnership with the City of Long Beach and The Long Beach Community Investment Company, invited the public to celebrate the completion of The Beacon last week with a virtual event featuring a video presentation acknowledging the many partners and agencies that made the development a success. Home to more than 200 veterans and seniors, many who have experienced homelessness, The Beacon is a landmark symbol of hope at the gateway to Downtown Long Beach.

“This place has been a godsend,” said Kevin Snow, a resident of The Beacon who has experienced 14 years of homelessness. “I’m off the street, I have security…it’s quiet, it’s clean.”

“There’s no denying that this past year has been a very difficult and painful year on many, many levels,” said Century Housing Senior Vice President Brian D’Andrea. “This development represents a source of light and hope for all of us, including the more than 200 residents who now call The Beacon home along with the larger Long Beach community. This is an asset that we can all be proud of.”

The virtual grand opening featured celebratory remarks from LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, Long Beach Councilmember Mary Zendejas, and all of the many partners and collaborators who brought The Beacon to life.

“We are committed to continuing the investment of our resources in developments like The Beacon that fill the vital need for additional affordable housing in the city,” said Patrice Wong, Chair of The Long Beach Community Investment Company, which approved more than $12 million in funding for the project in 2017. “This is a valuable and beautiful project that enhances the strong network of neighborhoods that sustain and promote a thriving Long Beach.”

The Beacon is a transit-oriented development that includes 160 affordable and supportive homes. Located across from the Metro Blue Line light rail and bus lines that operate along both Long Beach Boulevard and East Anaheim Street, residents have immediate connections to vital services and workplaces in Long Beach and beyond.

“The Beacon is a critical project in Long Beach to serve both formerly homeless veterans and formerly homeless seniors, as well as low-income seniors,” said Century Housing Vice President of Housing Oscar Alvarado. “We have a housing crisis, and we have a homelessness crisis … this is really just a quintessential site for an affordable housing development in a dense community.”

Celebrate with us on The Beacon Virtual Grand Opening page

See the Long Beach Post story

Fitch Assigns ‘AA’ Rating to Century

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Century receives 'AA' stable rating from Fitch

Century Housing announced that it has been assigned a ‘AA’ Rating with a stable outlook by Fitch Ratings, one of the major nationally recognized financial rating organization. Fitch also assigned a AA rating with stable outlook to Century’s recent municipal bond offering, the first municipal bond offered by a Community Development Financial Institution, which raised approximately $85 million to support sustainable and socially impactful affordable housing throughout California.

Alan Hoffman, Chief Financial Officer at Century, said, “The Fitch ‘AA stable’ rating, with Century’s ‘AA- stable’ rating from S&P Global, in combination with the Sustainalytics second party opinion designating our bonds Sustainability Bonds, provides investors with confirmation that an investment in Century is not only socially and environmentally very impactful, but has a lower financial risk, as well.”

To further develop its access to capital markets, Century sought a second financial credit rating to provide investors with additional confirmation of Century’s financial strength in the current economic environment. Century provides critical financing to address the shortage of affordable housing, which is a root cause of social and economic inequality. The affordable housing that Century finances also incorporates significant sustainable and energy-efficient building standards.

Our Mission Continues

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Dear Clients, Partners, and Colleagues,

I hope you are staying safe and sound while we work collectively to minimize the impact of COVID-19.

Here at Century, we remain focused on our mission as we follow CDC guidelines by avoiding in-person meetings and unnecessary travel. We have been successful in setting up our remote office network with nearly all Century staff available by email or phone and conducting business with our usual response time and personal attention.

If you have questions about your Century loan, or need special consideration, please contact your loan officer and we will do our best to accommodate your request.

Our commitment to our mission to finance, develop, and operate exceptional affordable housing is undiminished. We plan to continue our work with as minimal interruption as possible. Thank you for your dedication to affordable housing and the communities we build together.

Be well,

Ron Griffith
President & CEO, Century Housing

 

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2019 Results Repeated

2019 Was Our Best Year Ever!

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2019 Results Repeated

We don’t want to sound like a broken record, but the record has been broken yet again! Century financed 4,274 affordable and workforce homes in 2019, a near 200 home increase from the previous year, which was also a record high. On average, these homes will be available to individuals and families earning 46.22% of the area median income and the development work will support 4,625 full-time equivalent construction jobs.

Big thanks to the developers at the front lines of the fight for affordable housing who make our joint success possible. Your confidence in Century allows us to offer the specialized products and responsive service you need to tackle California’s affordability crisis.

Please give Josh a call at 310-642-2030 and let us help make your project pencil.

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Century Leads AHP Sponsorship in California

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Century sponsored eight successful applications for Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants in FHLBank San Francisco’s 2019 funding competition. The eight sponsored projects were awarded a total of $6,730,000 in subsidies this year, making Century the second highest-ranking member participating in the competition, and the most active AHP application sponsor in California.

The AHP grants will enable the winning applicants to move forward in developing a total of 681 new affordable housing units. The eight projects will create permanent supportive housing intended for homeless and formerly homeless residents, senior and veteran housing, modular housing, and LEED-designed sustainable buildings. Century is a proud member of FHLBank San Francisco and congratulates the applicants on their 2019 awards!

About the Affordable Housing Program

FHLBank San Francisco sets aside 10% of its earnings each year to fund the AHP, with a portion of that funding allocated to two first-time homebuyer downpayment assistance programs. Since 1990, the Bank has awarded over $1.1 billion in AHP funds to support the construction, rehabilitation, or purchase of nearly 142,000 units of quality affordable housing for lower-income households. The Bank’s member financial institutions, working in partnership with community-based housing sponsors or developers, compete for AHP grants by submitting applications for specific projects. AHP-funded projects represent a wide range of strategies and solutions, from historic preservation and adaptive reuse to new construction and rehabilitation. Where AHP projects are developed, local economies also get a boost, as these projects create jobs, increase construction and consumer spending, and generate new tax revenues.