More than 10 million U.S. households headed by someone aged 65 or older dedicate at least a third of their income to housing. Around 96% of the country’s homes lack features like no-step entries and wide doors that accommodate people who use wheelchairs and other mobility aids. Countless aging adults live in places that lack livability features like transportation alternatives, safe streets, or opportunities for engagement, contributing to isolation and loneliness.
This is all according to a recent report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University on the numerous housing challenges older populations face. And without intervention, these challenges will only be magnified as our population continues to age — by 2035, about one in every three U.S. households will be headed by someone aged 65 or older, the report predicts.
To meet the needs of our aging population, Enterprise Community Loan Fund (ECLF), Enterprise’s community development financial institution (CDFI), is dedicated to expanding and improving our existing housing stock — in terms of diversity of options, affordability, and accessibility. These eight properties demonstrate the scope of affordable senior housing our mission-driven partners are creating and preserving:
- Birchwood at Waldorf: ECLF provided a $4.2 million acquisition loan to the nonprofit senior housing provider CSI to acquire a 96-unit senior affordable multifamily apartment building in Waldorf, Maryland. The property provides affordable housing for senior households earning between 30 to 80% area median income (AMI) in a low-income area of Charles County.
- Evergreen Village Cooperative: ECLF provided a $6.0 million acquisition loan (through a participation loan with ROC USA Capital) to the Evergreen Village Cooperative, a newly formed 158-site senior resident cooperative in Bethel, Pennsylvania. ROC USA Capital is a nonprofit that makes quality resident ownership viable for homeowners in manufactured home communities. The loan to support resident ownership of the land beneath the manufactured homes will preserve the long-term affordability of the senior community, where more than half of the households earn less than 60% of AMI.
- Garden Hills Assisted Living: ECLF provided $300,000 in acquisition financing through a participation with Four Bands Community Fund, a native CDFI, to an entity formed by a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to purchase an assisted living facility in Spearfish, South Dakota. The financing will support the ongoing operations of a 30-bed assisted living facility that is an important asset to the aging population.
- Franklin Senior Apartments: ECLF provided $1.5 million in predevelopment financing to New Orleans Restoration Properties, a BIPOC-led developer, to support the development of Franklin Senior Apartments in Franklin, Louisiana. The property will provide 63 units for seniors earning between 50% and 80% of AMI.
- Vigil Light Apartments: ECLF provided a $7.7 million acquisition loan to PEP Housing, a nonprofit affordable housing and advocacy organization, for the preservation of a 49-unit senior housing complex in Santa Rosa, California, for senior households earning less than 50% of AMI. PEP acquired these affordable units for low-income seniors in an area where the housing stock has been impacted by wildfires in recent years, and where affordable housing is scarce.
- Milestone Arts Colony: ECLF provided $3.6 million in acquisition financing to Milestone Housing Group to support the development of a 103-unit senior affordable housing community in San Jose, California. Fifty-two of the homes will be rented to elderly individuals who experienced homelessness; supportive services will also be provided to help them remain housed. Residents will benefit from the property’s location in a service-rich area, with health, education, and recreational programming offered at Roosevelt Community Center and park across the street.
- Lake Merritt BART Senior Housing: ECLF provided $1.75 million in predevelopment financing to East Bay Local Development Corporation (EBALDC), a nonprofit CDC in the San Francisco Bay Area, to support the new construction of a 97-unit senior affordable housing community in Oakland, California. A portion of ECLF’s financing was through the Bay Area Transit Oriented Affordable Housing Fund, and the property will be the first of four buildings to be constructed as part of a multiphase transit-oriented development on transit agency-owned land in Oakland’s Chinatown neighborhood. Forty-four units will be reserved for elderly individuals with special needs or experiencing homelessness, while the remaining apartments will be rented to low-income seniors.
- Evergreen: ECLF provided $291K in permanent financing to Mercy Housing Northwest, a leading affordable housing nonprofit, to preserve this 24-unit property providing affordable housing to seniors earning between 30 and 80% of AMI. This property provides accessible high-quality homes, landscaped areas, and community space for low-income seniors in rural Skagit County, Washington.