Several hundred seniors who formerly experienced housing insecurity, now have a place to call home in Lancaster, California, thanks to the efforts of InSite Development. The firm, an affordable housing developer based in Woodland Hills, California, worked with PNC Bank to finance Essex Tower, a 70-unit, new construction apartment building that houses low-income seniors over the age of 55, who have formerly experienced homelessness.
Essex Tower joins Essex Apartments and Arbor Court, two adaptive reuse properties that were developed on the site of a former hotel, as the third and final phase of a comprehensive community for disabled adults and seniors. PNC provided permanent financing for all three phases of the campus, which is located just outside downtown Lancaster. Together, the properties comprise more than 300 permanent supportive housing units and provide mental health and other wraparound social services to residents.
“Essex Tower and this broader housing community offer residents much more than just a roof over their heads,” said Todd Weaver, head of PNC Agency Finance. “The real mission of this community is to help people improve their overall wellbeing and quality of life. These properties meet critical needs in the community, including helping find long-term solutions for individuals seeking assistance at local shelters, and are truly making a powerful difference in the lives of their residents.”
The campus is the result of seasoned partnerships between InSite Development and other entities. According to InSite’s founding partner Wah Chen, strong relationships were fundamental to completing Essex Tower. “At InSite, our motto is to ‘have an exuberant sense of what’s possible.’ We had a vision of what we wanted to accomplish with this property, but it took a lot of work and collaboration to get there,” Chen said. “Developments like these are complex, so being able to get on the phone with our contacts at PNC and talk through issues is priceless. We have a long history of working with PNC on these kinds of projects because of the level of trust we have built. PNC knows we can execute to make it happen, and we know that PNC is there to support us.”
Developments like these are complex, so being able to get on the phone with our contacts at PNC and talk through issues is priceless. We have a long history of working with PNC on these kinds of projects because of the level of trust we have built. PNC knows we can execute to make it happen, and we know that PNC is there to support us.
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