Standard Communities has converted Park Shirlington, a 294-unit apartment community in Arlington, Va., from a market-rate to a long-term affordable property with a $46.6 million HUD-backed loan secured by Walker & Dunlop.
The affordable housing division of Standard Property Co., a national real estate investment and management firm focused on multifamily, Standard Communities acquired the property at 4510 31st St. S in January 2018 in partnership with the National Foundation for Affordable Housing Solutions. Lone Star Funds was the previous owner, according to Yardi Matrix data.
The 16-acre property is adjacent to Village at Shirlington, a dining and entertainment destination located outside Washington, D.C. Located off Interstate 395, the property is within a 15-minute drive to downtown D.C. The asset offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units, ranging in size from 680 to 1,480 square feet. The property was previously financed through Walker & Dunlop’s interim loan program.
Led by Chris Rumul, Walker & Dunlop’s Federal Housing Administration team arranged the new loan through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development 221(d)(4) Substantial Rehabilitation Affordable Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Standard Communities was able to transform the market-rate asset into affordable housing for residents through at least 2053. AEGON USA Realty Advisors, along with Arlington County’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund and Virginia Housing, also helped with the conversion.
In conjunction with the FHA financing, Park Shirlington was converted to affordable with 60 percent Area Median Income (AMI) rent restrictions through a LIHTC regulatory agreement which covers all the units. The HUD 221(d)(4) program provided substantial rehabilitation funding of $34 million in renovation costs. The renovations included unit interiors and building systems. A new community center was constructed as part of the expansion and renovation of amenity spaces.
Collaborative effort
Scott Alter, co-founder & principal at Standard Communities, said in prepared remarks that transitioning Park Shirlington to affordable housing was an ambitious, yet critical, objective, citing Arlington’s affordable housing landscape. The Arlington-Alexandria metro area in northern Virginia is ranked as the 14th most underproduced market in the nation for affordable housing units, lacking nearly 157,000 needed units, according to Up for Growth.
Bethesda, Md.,-based Walker & Dunlop has been working to achieve its five-year goal of $60 billion in cumulative affordable and workforce housing finance by the end of 2025. The affordable team is well on its way to reaching the goal with the origination of $20.4 billion in financing over the past two years through HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and capital markets sources.
