Happy 25th to Century Villages at Cabrillo!

/in , ,

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

Looking Back on 2020

/in , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

/in , , , , , ,

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.”

Century Treats Clients To Evening at Hotel Figueroa

/in

Last Thursday, Century held its annual Client Appreciation event at the newly-renovated Hotel Figueroa in Downtown Los Angeles. The iconic hotel’s new 14-story floral mural served as the backdrop to some of California’s most prolific affordable housing developers comparing notes and building out their social network.

Josh Hamilton, Century’s Senior Vice President of Lending, thanked guests for their dedication to housing and noted the importance of their work in combating homelessness, which he called “the major problem facing society today.” Tracey Burns, Senior Relationship Manager, spoke highly of clients taking advantage of Century’s construction loan product, and Nick Friend, Vice President of Lending, encouraged entrepreneurial-minded developers to expand their geographical reach by calling him at Century’s Northern California office—please do, Nick is the easiest person to work with!

You can view a gallery of pictures from the event below, and if you missed it, be sure to hit up Josh for some flexible Century financing and put yourself at the top of next year’s invite list. Special thanks to Beulah Ku and Cyndi La for organizing the event, arranging the gift bags filled with specially curated goodies by Milla Chocolates, and cementing Century’s reputation as the coolest lender in the business.

 

California Developers’ Conference

/in , ,

The 2018 Annual California Developer’s Conference, co-hosted by Century, brought together affordable housing developers, lenders, and investors to share insights, connections, and hors d’oeuvres at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Panels covered federal, state, and local issues and developer concerns in a post-tax reform world. Chris Thornberg returned as keynote speaker to paint a positive picture of the economy while encouraging developers to support all types of housing development, noting that market-rate housing helps free up rent-controlled housing to low-income residents. You can download Mr. Thornber’s presentation and the presentation from the Federal Update panel, below.

Chris Thornberg’s Keynote Presentation

Federal Update Presentation by Michael Novogradac, Todd Crow, and Fred Copeman

Century Celebrates Opening of Anchor Place

/in , ,

Yesterday, Century, the City of Long Beach, and dozens of partners and supporting agencies celebrated the grand opening of Anchor Place, a 120-unit affordable housing development for families and veterans experiencing homelessness.

Located within the Century Villlages at Cabrillo campus owned and operated by Century, the five-story development includes 75 units reserved for veterans experiencing homelessness and 45 units set aside for extremely low-income residents. Anchor Place consists of a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, extensive open space, and courtyard recreational areas.

“Providing affordable, safe, and secure housing for a veterans and families is a key to addressing the City’s housing needs,” said Councilmember Roberto Uranga. “This development will support the tremendous efforts at the Century Villages at Cabrillo, and further promote vibrant and diverse communities.”

Residents have access to comprehensive on-site supportive services including case management, physical and mental health services, employment services, life skills training, and counseling.

“Century is very proud of Anchor Place and what has been created in the larger Villages at Cabrillo community,” said Ronald M. Griffith, President & CEO of Century Housing. “We are grateful for the investment and contributions of our many partners that have created this special community where lives are being transformed.”

 

Developers and investors think big at Developers’ Roundtable

/in , , ,

The 15th Annual California Developers’ Roundtable hosted by Downs Pham & Kuei, LLP and Century brought together an overflowing crowd of California’s top affordable housing developers, lenders, and investors at The Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills on March 3, 2015.

“The mood was upbeat to say the least. Optimistic energy and conversation filled the room upon hearing the positive market outlook on interest rates, rental housing starts, the increasing need for Affordable Housing, especially in California. An impressive array of speakers and attendees were on hand to reinforce the depth of experience and ability this group has to continue to make a positive impact on Affordable Housing going forward. We are in good hands to meet the changing environment and challenges of this mission,” said Mr. Kelly Sands, President of ICON Builders, who attended the conference.

This year’s panel discussed, among other topics, the local economic forecast and market conditions, the future of debt financing, and developer opportunities. According to Christopher Thornberg, Founding Partner of Beacon Economics and a speaker at the event, “California was among the nation’s stronger economies in 2014 with the labor market turning a corner, but there is also growing inequality of income and wealth, and a lack of housing that has resulted in an exodus of families with incomes of under $100,000 from the state.

Six years ago, the employment outlook and real estate industry were facing tough times. However, as 2015 begins, economic indicators are more favorable. “With the increase in financial resources and new funding through state and federal programs, the outlook for affordable housing looks encouraging,” said Aaron Wooler, SVP of Century, in the debt financing panel.

While developers are waiting for the new AHSC and VHHP funding sources, as well as LIHTC and bond allocations, the event gave everyone an opportunity to discuss larger issues and also share some creative tidbits. Peter Barker, President of Valued Housing, said, “Opportunity arises with innovative thinking. For example, obtaining an independent appraisal commissioned by a developer showed a FMV significantly above purchase price, which helped to generate additional credit in the recapitalization model.”

It was exciting for Century to be a part of this year’s California Developers’ Roundtable, and we hope to see everyone back next year.

 

 

Southern California’s Biggest Show Is Almost Here

/in , ,

Southern California’s “can’t miss” affordable housing event is just around the corner. SCANPH will host its 25th Annual Conference on Friday, November 1st at the JW Marriott Hotel in Downtown LA, and it’s not too late to register and take part in the most dynamic affordable housing events around.

This year Century is sponsoring, exhibiting, and participating in an early afternoon panel titled Social Impact Reporting: Telling Our Story. Brian D’Andrea, President of Century Villages at Cabrillo, will join the session moderated by Century’s Loan Officer, Neha Shah, to share insight into the successful adoption of investor-focused impact reporting which demonstrates the social, environmental, and economic returns on investment.