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Mercy Loan Fund Partners With Community Housing Capital and the Housing Partnership Network to Preserve Affordable Housing in San Diego, Calif.

San Diego, Calif.—Mercy Loan Fund (MLF), a leading Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) today announced that it has provided a participation loan to Community HousingWorks (CHW), a nonprofit developer of affordable housing, for the acquisition of 2601-2685 Ulric Street, a 36-unit multifamily community in San Diego, Calif. CHW plans to develop the property so that it will eventually include 188 units.

The deal’s lead lender, Community Housing Capital (CHC), will provide $4.9 million; the participant lenders, MLF and the Housing Partnership Network (HPN), will each provide $1.5 million. The loan is MLF’s seventh to CHC, and CHC’s ninth to CHW.

While the community already offers below-market rents, other potential buyers included for-profit organizations, who may have converted the community to market-rate rents. The acquisition of 2601-2685 Ulric Street will ensure that the housing remains affordable.

“With this loan, we look forward strengthening our relationship with Community Housing Capital,” said Adam Kopp, Senior Loan Officer at MLF. “With our partners, we are happy to help preserve this much-needed affordable housing, especially in an expensive market like San Diego.”

The announcement comes as the affordable housing crisis continues, and in many places worsens. In an interview with KPBS, Stephen Russell, executive director of the San Diego Housing Federation, said that rents have increased by 32 percent in San Diego since 2000, while wages have decreased by two percent.

About Mercy Loan Fund

For more than three decades, Mercy Loan Fund (MLF), a leading Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), has focused exclusively on funding affordable housing and essential community infrastructure projects that support affordable housing. By collaborating with socially-responsible developers, MLF has helped finance the development of single and multifamily homes for rental and homeownership. These developments help underserved communities, including people with low-incomes, seniors, farm workers, people who have experienced homelessness, and people with disabilities. MLF is a subsidiary of the affordable housing nonprofit, Mercy Housing, Inc. (MHI), headquartered in Denver, Colo. For more information, please visit mercyloanfund.org.