Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH)

"Seniors are the nation’s largest and fastest-growing population. Many are on fixed incomes, and in need of quality affordable housing. At POAH, creating and preserving opportunities for all incomes—especially those most at risk—is very important,” explains Nikkitta McCoy, Development Associate at POAH.

But a lot of current affordable housing is expiring, so when a Chicago YMCA put Emil Jones Jr. Senior Housing up for sale, POAH wanted to snap it up to ensure the 60-unit property remains affordable.

Unfortunately, there were financing challenges. POAH is a nonprofit developer and they compete with for-profit developers for choice properties like Emil Jones. McCoy notes that it is important “to have access to funds to acquire properties that are currently affordable, so that we can extend that affordability. There aren’t many options at the price point we provide.”

POAH’s Boston office has a long-standing relationship with BlueHub Loan Fund and thought there might be a fit; there was.

And for BlueHub Loan Fund, the project was an appropriate use of Capital Magnet Funds—financing awarded by the US Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund specifically for affordable housing projects.

The partnership is a blessing for Emil Jones’ residents, for whom the transition has been smooth. There have been energy upgrades, and there is now a POAH Resident Services Coordinator that plans both in-house services and activities and offsite excursions. And an additional plus: “We were able to keep all the existing personnel; it’s nice for the residents not to feel like there was a big change.”