Wells Fargo is expanding its commitment to affordable housing in Northern California. The financial institution is providing Eden Housing and the Black Cultural Zone Community Development Corporation with a construction loan of 82 million dollars. The funds will be used to deliver the Residences at Liberation Park new-build project in Oakland, California, which is set to comprise a total of 119 residential units.
In addition to the senior construction loan, the bank is contributing 57 million dollars in equity via federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. An additional 78 million dollars comes from public and private sources to cover the remaining total development costs of 135 million dollars. Other institutional supporters include Alameda County, the City of Oakland, the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the Oakland Housing Authority, and the California Municipal Finance Authority.
Focus on wide income brackets in East Oakland
The scheme at 2751 73rd Avenue in East Oakland is being built close to the Eastmont Mall and the Eastmont Transit Center. The six-storey building will offer apartment types ranging from studios to three-bedroom flats. All units are aimed at households with incomes between 20 and 80 percent of the local median income. A quarter of the housing stock is specifically reserved for formerly homeless individuals or residents with special care needs.
Prior to extending the loan, the bank had already allocated nearly 2 million dollars towards regeneration plans for the surrounding district. The site will also feature a marketplace and retail hub of approximately 31,000 square feet with office space, serving as an anchor for the neighbourhood. Linda Mandolini, Chief Executive Officer of Eden Housing, stated that the project demonstrates the impact affordable housing can achieve when embedded in a far-reaching concept for local neighbourhood investment.
Extensive financing commitments in California
Pete Cannava, Managing Director and Head of Multifamily Capital at Wells Fargo, highlighted that tax-exempt bond financing had been crucial to getting the transaction over the line. Construction works are commencing as scheduled and are planned to last roughly three years. Cannava pointed to the institution's long-standing presence in the state as well as prior financings with a similar focus:
- —Since 2021, the bank has provided 4 billion dollars in construction loans and 2.7 billion dollars in tax credit equity for a total of 11,000 subsidised units in California.
- —In El Dorado County, the institution funded the construction of the 65-unit El Dorado Haven Apartments through a 30.7 million dollar loan.
- —For the development of the 82-unit 300 Alamitos residential community in Long Beach, Wells Fargo extended construction loans amounting to 32.9 million dollars.
The transaction fits into the financial group's continuous support for residential development. Most recently, the bank also mobilised substantial funds on the East Coast, including nearly 10 billion dollars over the past five years to create and preserve more than 50,000 affordable homes across the five boroughs of New York City.
