Transaction Details
- Loan Amount: $14.4 Million
- Loan Type: Refinance/Bond Acquisition
- Loan Term: 5 years
- Property Type: Student Housing
Lynnwood, Washington, January 27, 2021 – Align Finance Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity real estate debt fund manager focused exclusively on tax-exempt financing, closed on a $14,410,000 tax-exempt loan for Rainier Place, a 184-bed affordable student housing complex in Lynnwood, WA, a suburb north of Seattle. Align facilitated the financing through the acquisition of tax-exempt bonds secured by the property and originated by Key Government Finance Inc. in 2015.
The borrower, Ecco Properties, is a Washington non-profit corporation, which currently operates Rainier Place located at the Edmonds College campus. Ecco Properties is an affiliate organization of NDC Housing and Economic Development Corporation, the development and financing arm of the National Development Council.
“This transaction meets Align’s investment objective to invest in tax-exempt debt that supports affordable housing,” said Dani Evanson, Principal and Investment Committee Member at Align Finance Partners. “Align provided customized tax-exempt loan terms and a closing timeline that is typically not feasible for most lenders. Align’s financing provided the borrower with a unique financing solution that addressed the property’s significant vacancy due to COVID-19.”
Align acquired the bonds on December 30, 2020, prior to Key’s mandatory tender date of January 1, 2021. The bonds now have a mandatory tender date of January 1, 2026.
“Align delivered a creative alternative, underwrote the short-term operating cashflow disruption and closed the acquisition in 40 days without requiring the borrower to infuse any additional cash,” said Steven Fayne, Principal and Investment Committee Member at Align Finance Partners. “Because of Align’s speed to close, the borrower avoided a costly extension with its original lender.”
The Bonds were issued by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, which was represented by Pacifica Law Group. Norris, George, & Ostrow PLLC and Butler Snow LLP served as co-counsel for Align.
About Align Finance Partners
San Francisco, CA-based Align Finance Partners is a private equity real estate debt fund that provides interest-only and amortizing, fixed rate, tax-exempt financing for qualified borrowers in connection with the acquisition, development or refinancing of affordable multifamily communities. Align Finance Partners specializes in structuring and offering unique financing solutions to owners and developers of affordable housing. The principals of Align have provided over $7 billion of financing for affordable housing and have developed, owned and managed approximately 27,000 affordable housing units in more than 275 communities throughout the United States. Align has extensive experience with tax-exempt bond financing, Section 42 Low Income Housing Tax Credits and multiple state and local housing finance programs.
