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Community Facilities

Funding more places to celebrate community

Arts and culture organizations and social services turn neighborhoods into communities, making them more vibrant places to live. BlueHub Loan Fund provides hard-to-find financing to community gathering places. Where other lenders step back, we step up.

Our community facilities work

BlueHub Loan Fund cultivates local partnerships to identify, develop and invest in community facilities projects that align with resident priorities. Cultural organizations can provide lasting economic opportunities for low-wealth areas, and social services can be a crucial resource that meets the needs of local residents.

We look to partner on real estate projects that create or expand facilities for nonprofits that provide an array of services, including youth arts programs, advocacy for immigrants and job training.

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Artists for Humanity's facility in Boston. This nonprofit provides under-resourced teens with paid employment in art and design.
Photo by Marilyn Humphries

What we offer

We are creative, accessible, relationship lenders.

At BlueHub Loan Fund, we customize our financing to match the needs of each borrower and project. We are life-cycle lenders, supporting projects throughout their development cycles, from early-stage predevelopment and acquisition financing, to permanent loans for stabilized buildings, and every financing need in between. We also provide technical assistance when and where it is needed to help community facilities projects access financing.

We offer a full range of flexible loan products for community facilities projects, including:

BlueHub Loan Fund helps with financing for real estate acquisition in connection with the development of community facilities.

We often combine an acquisition loan with a predevelopment loan to allow borrowers to advance the design of their project while they secure the complete project funding.

We will consider loan amounts that approach or even exceed 100% of the value of the collateral.

When the cash coming in from committed project sources does not align with the construction schedule or funder requirements, BlueHub Loan Fund can help with a bridge loan.

BlueHub Loan Fund provides short-term financing for construction, advancing funds into the project monthly after work has been completed and reviewed.

BlueHub Loan Fund works with partners to design financing that helps move community facilities projects forward.

BlueHub Loan Fund finances improvements to leased spaces.

BlueHub Loan Fund is an experienced lender to facility projects utilizing New Markets Tax Credits equity, effectively leveraging our expertise with this complex program as a multi-year recipient of New Markets Tax Credits.

BlueHub Loan Fund can provide longer-term financing for occupied properties that is supported by the net operating income of the organization.

Once a borrower has a feasible project program, a project timeline, and control of their site, BlueHub Loan Fund can fund a large portion of the up-front costs related to work with architects, lawyers and engineers to advance the development to construction closing.

BlueHub Loan Fund can provide debt behind senior bank financing when a project has sufficient cash flow and value to support additional debt.

“This [community center] project is only possible because of the institutions and partners that are helping to fund it. The $9.5 million bridge loan that BlueHub Capital provided is a critical component, enabling us to move forward with construction that will ultimately be financed through government grants and individual capital pledges, both of which have been secured, but not yet monetized.”

Julie Miles, Development Director On the construction of Make the Road New York's community center

Who we partner with

BlueHub Loan Fund provides financing to large and small nonprofit organizations across the country that are building or renovating space that will be used as a community asset, such as:

Our impact in community facilities financing

$374.7M

Invested in community facilities

5M

Square feet of community gathering places developed*

$1.4M

Average loan size for community facilities projects

*Includes healthcare and school facilities

Contact Us

For inquiries about BlueHub Loan Fund's community development financing work, please email LoanFundInquiry@bluehubcapital.org.

Meet our experts

Elisabeth Davis

Vice President of Commercial Lending Community Development Financing | BlueHub Loan Fund

Elisabeth develops loan products to meet evolving needs of community development projects in underserved areas across the country.

Karen Kelleher

President Community Development Financing | BlueHub Loan Fund

Karen is responsible for the impact, financial performance, portfolio quality and strategic direction of BlueHub Loan Fund.

Ena Kumar

Vice President of Commercial Lending Community Development Financing | BlueHub Loan Fund

Ena manages all aspects of providing commercial lending services to a diverse portfolio of BlueHub Loan Fund borrowers nationwide.

Fortunatus Mbeteni

Vice President of Lending Community Development Financing | BlueHub Loan Fund

Fortunatus manages all aspects of providing debt capital to a diverse portfolio of borrowers nationwide.

Michael Nilles

Senior Vice President, Team Leader Community Development Financing | BlueHub Loan Fund

Mike markets BlueHub Loan Fund to potential borrowers, underwrites loan requests and conducts ongoing portfolio management.

Johvanna Sampson

Vice President of Commercial Lending Community Development Financing | BlueHub Loan Fund

Johvanna conducts outreach and marketing to potential BlueHub Loan Fund borrowers, structuring and underwriting community development loans.

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