PCHA and Norstar Close $16.2M

PCHA and Norstar Close $16.2 Million in Tax Credit Equity for $24M Preservation Project

Housing authority secures $24M for public housing project

BY: BUSINESS OBSERVER
December 02, 2013

ST. PETERSBURG — The Pinellas County Housing Authority has closed on $24 million in funding to renovate the French Villas public housing apartments in unincorporated Pinellas County. The project received low-income housing tax credits, secured by the housing authority’s development partner Norstar Development USA LP, from the Florida Housing Finance Corp. The partners were then able to sell those tax credits to Raymond James Tax Credit Funds Inc. for $16.2 million in construction and permanent financing.

In addition, Pinellas County government has also pledged $300,000 in HOME funds to the project.

The funding will be used to completely gut and rehab all 184 of the French Villas’ units and to install new infrastructure and community facilities. Residents are already being relocated and the renovations are scheduled to start this month.

French Villas, located at 6835 54th Ave. N., St. Petersburg, was constructed in phases from 1970 to 1973. Over the years, the property has suffered from infrastructure failures and environmental issues. The unit interiors are original and said to be in poor condition. The housing authority and Norstar applied for tax credits in the preservation set-aside from the Florida Housing Finance Corp. in 2011.

To date, Ontario-based Norstar has been involved as lead developer in 20 mixed-finance/mixed-income public housing authority transactions. The company has more than 900 mixed-finance multifamily and senior units in various stages of construction and development with housing authorities in Florida, New York, Michigan and Alabama.