A $43.8 million senior housing community completed this week in Hollywood, California credits the transit benefits of its location with being the key driver in its development—with more on the way.
The project is a product of transit oriented development funds available in California and Los Angeles, says Tim Soule, senior project manager at Meta Housing. Those types of funds are available across the U.S., he says, with an emphasis on making use of transportation infrastructure.
“In every infill project we build, we focus on getting transit-adjustable sites,” Soule told SHN. “We believe it makes the project much more attractive to public funding sources and also better for us and for the residents. It’s a proverbial win-win.”
The “transit-oriented” Metro@Hollywood community including 120 affordable senior housing units and retail space touts proximity within 200 yards of the Los Angeles County Metro system, which connects Hollywood with downtown Los Angeles. Additionally, residents of the mixed-use community can walk to bus access as well as many local amenities, a feature developer Meta Housing Corporation says is a trend that is gaining momentum in senior housing.
Two other senior Meta Housing developments recently completed also hinge on their proximity to transportation; one is based in Long Beach, California and the other Chinatown in Los Angeles, both completed this year.
“Transit-oriented development continues to emerge as a smart growth solution for urban cities throughout the U.S.,” says Meta Housing President John Huskey. “By strategically placing our properties in pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods and utilizing public metro and bus systems, we have identified a viable and environmental solution to many of the traffic and parking issues which are typical in an urban neighborhood.”
Meta has worked in senior housing development since 1993 and counts more than 4,200 senior housing units in its development portfolio, to date, with an increasing emphasis on transportation. The transit-oriented locations serve not only as a selling point to prospective residents who wish not to drive, but for the cities and states in which they are located, Soule says.
“It’s a selling point not only for tenants who would like to jettison their cars but also for cities,” he says. “Cities want to leverage the billions of dollars of investment they have made in their transit lines and locate business and residential there. It’s a trend we are seeing.”
Meta Housing partnered with the State of California’s Department of Housing and Community Development, the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Housing Department, on the project, with construction financing provided by Citibank and permanent financing provided by the California Community Reinvestment Corporation.
The equity investor for the project, Redstone Equity Partners, purchased the low income housing tax credits.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
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