SoLa Impact Lands $35M Construction Loan for L.A. Affordable Housing

A minority-owned real estate fund is in the midst of developing some much-needed affordable housing in South Los Angeles, and has just landed some fresh financing for the project. 

SoLa Impact, a real estate fund focused on affordable and workforce housing, has secured a $34.8 million construction loan tied to 4301 Vermont — named after its address — a five-story, 188-unit affordable development on Vermont Avenue in L.A.’s Vermont-Slauson neighborhood. Acore Capital provided the loan, which was arranged by Walker & Dunlop’s Chris Montes. 

“This development will bring much-needed housing to urban in-fill Los Angeles, specifically to low-income and moderate-income tenants,” Montes said in a statement. 

Indeed, 80 percent of the project’s units are earmarked for low-income residents, with the remaining 20 percent set aside for moderate-income residents, according to Walker & Dunlop. Once completed, the property will feature “prefabricated modular units,” supplied by SoLa manufacturing subsidiary Model Z. 

SoLa’s financing package isn’t the only piece of affordable housing news to make headlines in Southern California lately. Late last month, Beverly Hills-based Bldg Partners paid $108 million for a 392-unit affordable multifamily complex a few miles from Disneyland in Anaheim. In December, Acore led a $112 million construction financing package for a 483-unit affordable project not far from San Diego State University. 

Yet those prices still pale in comparison to the $1 billion that Standard Communities paid in November for a 6,000-unit affordable housing portfolio across California, Arizona, Texas and Colorado. That deal included six properties in the Golden State from four different sellers, three of which were in the Southern Californian cities of Norwalk, Redondo Beach and San Juan Capistrano. 

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.