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Mercy Loan Fund Partners with National Church Residences to Preserve Much-Needed Affordable Housing in Memphis, TN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/13/2016

Contact:

Amelia Laing

Content Manager

alaing@mercyhousing.org

303-830-3432

Denver, CO—Mercy Loan Fund (MLF), a leading Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) based in Denver, Colo., has announced it has partnered with National Church Residences (NCR) to help preserve 55 affordable homes for seniors at Hickory Hollow Senior Apartments in Memphis, Tenn.

MLF has provided a $1.36MM loan to NCR to help them replenish their capital for further affordable real estate asset purchases and allow time for a future resyndication.

NCR purchased Hickory Hollow Senior Apartments in January of 2015 to preserve its affordability and execute a future resyndication. After research into the Tennessee Qualified Allocation Plan for 2016, they determined that the property would not be competitive in the 2016 Low Income Housing Tax Credit allocation.

The announcement comes as the national affordable housing crisis continues, and in many places worsens. Residents of Shelby County (Memphis) are especially vulnerable. According to an analysis by Enterprise Community Partners, families who live there “are the state’s most severely rent burdened, with 30.7 percent of renter households paying at least half of their income toward housing costs.”

The analysis also found that the affordable housing crisis is disproportionately affecting the state’s young and elderly: 30 percent of Tennessean renters over the age of 80 and 27 percent of Tennessean renters aged 18-24 have unaffordable rents.

“Mercy Loan Fund’s relationship with National Church Residences has grown stronger over the years,” said Stefanie Joy, Lending Director at Mercy Loan Fund. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with them in the coming years to increase the number of affordable homes for seniors nationwide.”

“National Church Residences highly values its relationship with Mercy Loan Fund,” said Joe Hall, Director of Acquisitions at National Church Residences. “Having a like-minded vision in regards to our mission, that focus allows for us to easily work together to achieve the best financing outcomes for our communities. We look forward to working together with Mercy Loan Fund many more times in the near future.”

About Mercy Loan Fund

For three decades, Mercy Loan Fund has focused exclusively on funding affordable housing and essential community infrastructure projects that support affordable housing. By collaborating with socially-responsible developers, Mercy Loan Fund has helped finance the development of single and multifamily homes for rental and homeownership. These developments help a variety of people including low-income families, the working poor, seniors, farm works, people who have experienced homelessness, and people with special needs. Mercy Loan Fund is a subsidiary of the affordable housing nonprofit, Mercy Housing. For more information, please visit www.mercyloanfund.org.

About National Church Residents

National Church Residences, headquartered in Upper Arlington, Ohio, is the nation’s largest not-for-profit provider of affordable senior housing and services. With 340 communities in 28 states and Puerto Rico, National Church Residences prides itself on being a dedicated developer, owner and operator of Senior Living Communities and permanent supportive housing for the formerly homeless and disabled. In addition, National Church Residences also provides health care services throughout Ohio and Florida. For more information on National Church Residences, please visit www.nationalchurchresidences.org.