Multi-housing community near Seattle secures $17.95M Freddie Mac senior loan and $13.5M subordinate loan from Amazon Housing Equity Fund

SEATTLE, Jan. 12, 2021 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has underwritten and closed a $17.95 million Freddie Mac Senior Loan and a $13.5 million subordinate loan from Amazon Housing Equity Fund for the acquisition of Sage Apartments, a 123-unit, garden-style multi-housing community in the suburban Seattle community of Everett, Washington. The new owner, Alliant Strategic Investments and Nuveen Real Estate Capital, is converting 100 percent of its units affordable to households making less than 80 percent of the area’s median income levels to address the growing need for affordable housing in the Seattle MSA. The restriction will be in place for 99 years. 

JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, a partnership between Alliant Strategic Investments and Nuveen Real Estate Capital, to secure the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through Freddie Mac. The loan will be serviced by JLL Real Estate Capital, LLC, a Freddie Mac Optigo℠ lender. Additionally, JLL underwrote the supplemental debt on behalf of the Amazon Housing Equity Fund.  The closing is the first project to successfully utilize both Freddie Mac and Amazon’s subordinate loan offering. 

“Freddie Mac's participation in the financing of Sage Apartments reflects our relentless commitment to the design and development of unique financing structures that produce and preserve affordable housing for renters nationwide," said Steve Johnson, vice president of Small Balance Loan and Targeted Affordable Sales & Investments at Freddie Mac.  "We are proud to partner with JLL, Alliant Strategic Investments, Amazon and Nuveen Real Estate Capital to provide safe, affordable housing to the community of Everett, WA for years to come."

Sage Apartments contains one- and two-bedroom units ranging from 621 to 989 square feet that feature balconies or patios with extra storage, walk-in closets and in-unit washer and dryers. The community amenities include a resident clubhouse, fitness center, Amazon Hub package locker, pool, outdoor seating and barbecue area, dog park, car wash station and security patrol. Built in 2007 with only minor upgrades to 13 percent of the units, the new owner plans to upgrade all unit interiors.

Situated at 1730 112^th St. SW, Sage Apartments is located only four minutes from Interstate 5, providing easy access to the region’s largest employers via 112th Street Southwest. In addition, residents can walk to both northbound and southbound Swift transit stations in seven minutes or less, providing access to nine Everett Transit bus lines and a 653-space park and ride. The community is positioned within 20 minutes of over 65,000 jobs at Seattle’s largest employers, including Amazon, Oracle, Zillow, Salesforce, Crane Aerospace & Electronics, Tableau and Boeing. In addition, residents can access an abundance of retail, entertainment and dining amenities at the nearby State Route 99 Retail Corridor, Everett Mall and Alderwood Mall.

With approximately four million people calling the area home, the Seattle MSA is the 15^th largest MSA in the nation. The region has experienced a 25 percent increase in population between 2010 and 2021, and the area saw a 16 percent increase in renters over the last five years. The submarket inventory is largely vintage, and many properties have been taken offline for either renovation or redevelopment and reabsorbed very efficiently once placed back into the market. Currently, there are only 275 units under construction within the submarket.

The Capital Markets Debt Advisory team representing the borrower included Senior Director J. Paul Smith and Directors Drew Heitstuman and Mary Dooley.

“The creation and preservation of affordable housing is a critical issue we all face,” said Smith. “Alliant Strategic Investments and Nuveen Real Estate Capital are industry leaders committed to solving the issue. JLL is thrilled to have assisted in their efforts to preserve affordable housing options for the residents of Everett, WA. Further we are grateful for the creative and tireless efforts of Freddie Mac and the Amazon Housing Equity Fund. We hope this pioneering transaction will spur additional affordable housing preservation.”

The Amazon Housing Equity Fund is a more than $2 billion commitment to preserve and create more than 20,000 affordable housing units in Washington state’s Puget Sound region; in and around Arlington, Virginia; and Nashville, Tennessee—three hometown communities where the company has a large and growing presence. The Amazon Housing Equity Fund increases housing options for moderate-to-low-income families by providing affordable housing providers with quick access to low-rate loans to create or preserve buildings where affordability would have otherwise been lost to commercial-rate development. The fund will also provide cash grants to businesses, nonprofits, and minority-led organizations to help them build a more inclusive solution to the affordable housing crisis, which disproportionately affects communities of color.

“The Amazon Housing Equity Fund is truly making an impact and this transaction is a great example of putting words into action,” C.W. Early, Senior Managing Director, JLL Capital Markets said. “They provided attractive long- term subordinate financing to allow ASI to purchase and renovate the property, which included putting 99-year affordability restrictions in place.”

“Furthermore, the Amazon Housing Equity Fund continues to demonstrate innovative means to address financing gaps in the market to facilitate the delivery of critically important affordable housing units” Martine Combal, Senior Vice President, JLL Public Institutions stated.

JLL delivers multi-housing investors a full range of solutions through one diverse, integrated platform. The division employs approximately 400 professionals who provide comprehensive investment sales and disposition services with access to thousands of domestic and foreign investors. JLL is also one of the nation’s largest affordable and conventional multi-housing and seniors housing lenders with comprehensive loan underwriting, asset management and loan servicing capabilities. Agency/GSE lending and loan servicing are performed by JLL Real Estate Capital, LLC, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. Loans made or arranged in California are pursuant to a California Financing Law license.

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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