Loans support new affordable senior living in Gloucester
Opportunity
A new 40-unit apartment facility will provide needed affordable housing for seniors in Gloucester, Va. Being developed by Bay Aging, a nonprofit organization based in nearby Urbanna, Daffodil Gardens Phase II will include five fully accessible apartments.
Daffodil Gardens Phase II will be constructed adjacent to the original Daffodil Gardens, which brought 64 units to the area in 2001. The complex includes the Gloucester Adult Day Care Center and a Bay Transit facility, which gives residents access to an array of services. Within less than a mile are a hospital, grocery store, and other professional services and shops.
Established in 1978, Bay Aging is a premier provider of programs and services for residents in a mostly rural 2,600-square-mile region covering 10 counties on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck. The nonprofit delivers diverse programs through three divisions: Community Living, Bay Transit, and Bay Housing. Bay Aging has developed 10 affordable housing communities.
Parker General Contractors, which has completed several affordable housing projects for Bay Aging, will oversee the construction of Daffodil Gardens Phase II. The facility will meet both universal design and sustainability standards. In this partnership, VCC can help Bay Aging, a well-respected local developer, tap into additional capital sources and serve a high-needs group.
Solution
Bay Aging has demonstrated success in building quality affordable housing – working with federal and state agencies to gain access to grants and special loan rates to support this mission. VCC recognized that $5.4 million in construction and bridge loans would help Bay Aging expand its outreach in an underserved area. The bridge loan allowed the developer to leverage Low Income Housing Tax Credits for the project.
Impact
Daffodil Gardens Phase II will fill an important gap in the local Gloucester community, a rural neighborhood. The existing apartment facility remains at full capacity, reinforcing the continued need for senior affordable housing. The new facility will help residents live in a complex where they can easily access related services, and develop the community’s long-term vitality. Half of the units will serve residents with incomes at or below 60 percent of the area’s median income, while the other half will be reserved for residents whose incomes are at 50 percent or below AMI. Those units will fill a demonstrated need in the region.