San Luis, Arizona, a rural border town in the southwestern corner of the state, has experienced rapid growth over the past six years, especially among seniors. Comite de Bien Estar (Comite), a NeighborWorks network member building quality, affordable homes in San Luis, Arizona, received a $225,000 Predevelopment Bridge Loan from Community Housing Capital's (CHC) Capital Magnet Funds in 2016. The low-interest funds were used to cover predevelopment costs for a 60-unit apartment complex for seniors and chronically homeless individuals. In June of 2017, Comité received a $6,575,000 construction loan from CHC to build Las Brisas Sunset. The 15 one-bedroom and 45 two-bedroom apartments will be the first affordable, senior apartment complex in San Luis. The Las Brisas Sunset Apartments are a 55+ elderly housing complex that is affordable at 40%, 50%, and 60% of area median income. Twenty percent (12) of the units are set aside for 55+ chronically homeless individuals. Each unit is powered by a solar array and there is a 1,550 square foot community center with a kitchen facility and a leasing office. CHC’s flexible financing played a critical role in the success of this 60-unit project, particularly during the predevelopment stage: “We needed operational money just to get to the starting line, so CHC played an important role in getting the project off the ground. We used it to pay the application fees and fees to the state, which let us set up everything for the actual construction closing,” said Gary Black, Deputy Director, Comite de Bien Estar.
