Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Financing Amount: $28.3 million
Financing Type: Equity
Scope: 412 units
Virtually a city within a city, Riverport Landings will be home to families, senior citizens, single-parent families and young adults aging out of foster care. Situated on a 36-acre site, it offers three distinct communities along with support services, retail, access to a 2.5-acre community park and other shared amenities.
Riverport Senior Living offers 108 units. Riverport Family Apartments comprises 240 affordable units, and Riverport Scholar House provides 64 units for low-income single-parent families and young adults aging out of foster care who are enrolled in the Family Scholar House educational program. This has been very effective in ending the cycle of poverty, by giving residents the tools to achieve life-long self-sufficiency.
The properties were completed in February 2019 and were already leased up — a testament to the great need for affordable housing in this area.
Riverport Landings is a joint venture between Marian Development and LDG Development — two of the nation’s largest developers of affordable housing. Combined, the companies have provided more than 9,000 affordable housing units for seniors, students and families in various cities across the country. The developers are long-term clients of PNC, which has a great deal of affordable housing expertise in the Louisville market. The project is the largest non-public housing community ever developed in Louisville, and financing required the experience, knowledge and strength of a major bank. As a result, they invited PNC to participate in the project.
Financing for three separate entities on a 36-acre site proved to be complex. The combined budget totals more than $71 million. $35.4 million in tax-exempt bond financing is providing new construction and permanent loan capital. The bonds were structured in three separate issuances: $7.3 million for the Riverport Scholar House; $8.7 million for Riverport Senior Apartments; and $19.4 million for Riverport Family Apartments.
PNC provided $15.2 million in syndicated equity financing for Riverport Family LLC, $6.1 million in balance sheet funding for the single-parent and scholar units, and $7 million in balance sheet funding for the seniors development.
Teamwork among the entities and frequent meetings helped them to overcome the complexities presented by the project and the potential difficulties created by tax reform — to ensure a successful closing.
“Affordable housing in Louisville is essential to attracting and retaining the diverse workforce needed for the community to grow,” said Jacob Brown, principal for Marian Development. “We want to recognize PNC for helping to make Riverport Landings a reality. They understand affordable housing and have been a great asset to us over the years.”
Chris Dischinger, principal for LDG Development, added, "They sat across the table from us on many occasions and were able to resolve the tough issues that arose along the way. I don’t know how we could have navigated the process without their expertise and hard work."
