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RCAC critical gap financing supports affordable housing development

Loan Fund Project Highlight

Where: Woodland, California

Need: Affordable housing shortage

Solution: Critical gap financing

Affordable housing for farm workers in rural areas that is attractive, durable and close to community services is nearly impossible to find. Many financial barriers to new construction exist. In Woodland, the Community Housing Opportunities Corporation (CHOC) renovated two adjacent mobile home parks to develop the Casa Del Sol Mobile Home Park, an affordable housing solution for local low-income families, mainly farm workers.

The once dilapidated parks are now a modern, landscaped housing community with a 4,000 square-foot community center and visiting health clinic. The rehab project created permanent housing and eliminated a serious blight in the neighborhood.

The $15 million rehabilitation project took 10 years to complete. RCAC provided a $1 million Agriculture Worker Health and Housing Program loan to help support predevelopment costs, which is now part of the permanent financing. Another RCAC $1 million bridge loan kept the project moving while the state of California delayed fund disbursements. In addition, RCAC loaned more than $3 million in California Housing and Community Development Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing grant funds, provided a $100,000 demolition loan and a final $300,000 gap loan to help complete the project. At numerous critical points in the redevelopment, the RCAC Loan Fund played a supportive role.

“We could not have accomplished this endeavor, at this time of economic uncertainty, without the tremendous support and resolve from all of our partners, especially RCAC,” said Scott Shepherd, vice president of real estate development, CHOC.

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