Background

Lake City includes Goodhue and Wabasha counties and lies along Lake Pepin, a wide portion of the Mississippi River. The project was built in two phases, with a 49-unit four-story building built in 1994 and a 12-unit three-story building built in 2006.

The Challenge

The project was originally bond financed and the owners were looking to reduce debt service by locking in a low FHA mortgage rate. The project has a meals program for the tenants that is not allowed under HUD’s apartment program. The project also needed to address some deferred maintenance issues. The project is located in a market with a slow-growing population and a significant overhang of unsold vacant housing. 

Outcome

As a first step, Rockhall analyzed the market to explore demand for senior housing more closely.  Rockhall differentiated the senior citizen market from the market as a whole and found that, although overall population growth in the PMA is slow, growth in the age 62+ population will be brisk, providing the requisite demand for the project.

The loan funded ADA repairs and reduced debt service costs. As part of the financing, funds were raised to address many long-term capital replacement issues identified by project management. Rockhall coordinated with the bond trustee to prepay the bonds.

Rockhall worked with the owner to separate the meals program into a separate business entity that leased space in the facility so that meal-related income was not included in the underwriting.