Enterprise Closes First Green Refinance Plus Loan

COLUMBIA, Md., May 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. (Enterprise) today announced the closing of the first loan under the Green Refinance Plus program, a partnership between Fannie Mae and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) introduced last year to incentivize energy and resource efficiency improvements in affordable housing.

The $19.4 million refinance loan to LINC Housing Corporation—a nonprofit that builds, owns, and operates affordable housing for seniors and families throughout California—for City Gardens in Santa Ana provided $1.5 million for property improvements, including replacing old inefficient gas-fired furnaces with ENERGY STAR-rated furnaces and installing low-flow plumbing fixtures, energy efficient lighting in units and common areas, and a passive solar domestic hot water heating system. The 274-unit affordable development primarily serves families with children in one of the nation's most expensive housing markets. Enterprise will oversee the renovations and service the loan, which it originated and underwrote.

"Through innovative financial products as part of our vision to green all affordable housing by 2020, Enterprise is bringing the health, economic, and environmental benefits of green building and preservation to communities nationwide," said Lamar Seats, senior vice president, Multifamily Mortgage Finance, Enterprise. "The Green Refinance Plus program provides owners of affordable housing a new refinancing opportunity that empowers them to make energy improvements and other needed renovations that reduce operating costs, improve air quality for residents, and protect the environment at the same time."

"Green Refinance Plus supports Fannie Mae's efforts to ensure a more sustainable rental housing market that is affordable to low- and moderate-income families," added Bob Simpson, vice president of Affordable Lending, Fannie Mae Multifamily. "The program allows building owners to better manage their energy and resource costs, it helps communities by reducing the environmental footprint of rental properties, and it provides renters with renovated apartments that remain affordable and are healthier to live in."

Every 10-to-15 years, owners of multifamily affordable properties typically refinance their mortgages. Owners of older apartment buildings are often hard-pressed to find additional financing to maintain or improve the physical condition of their properties. Green Refinance Plus is intended to refinance the expiring mortgages of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit—as well as other affordable—developments and to lower annual operating costs by reducing energy consumption. The program is an enhancement of the Fannie Mae/FHA Risk-Share program, begun in the 1990s. It provides funding for the refinance, preservation, and energy-efficient retrofits of older affordable multifamily housing properties, and it allows for lower debt service coverage and higher loan-to-value ratios to generate extra loan proceeds for property rehab and energy-efficient retrofits.

Enterprise is a leading provider of the development capital and expertise it takes to create decent, affordable homes and rebuild communities. For 30 years, Enterprise has introduced neighborhood solutions through public-private partnerships with financial institutions, governments, community organizations and others that share our vision. Enterprise has raised and invested more than $11 billion in equity, grants and loans to help build or preserve nearly 300,000 affordable rental and for-sale homes to create vital communities. Visit www.EnterpriseCommunity.org and www.EnterpriseCommunity.com to learn more about Enterprise's efforts to build communities and opportunity.

Enterprise's Multifamily Mortgage Finance business is merging with Bellwether Real Estate Capital, expanding our geographic reach, product offerings and ability to serve multifamily and commercial real estate borrowers across the country. Transaction expected to close in late May 2012.

SOURCE Enterprise Community Investment, Inc.