Photo by Adam Robison, the Daily Journal
Vacant Mississippi Factory Redevelops into Affordable Housing for Seniors using CDFI Loan
Client: Old Historic Carnation LP
Client Location: Tupelo, MS
CDFI: Housing Assistance Council
CDFI Service Area: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE, FL, HI, ID, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MS, MO, MT, NM, NY, NC, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV
Financing for affordable housing for seniors with support from the Finance Justice Fund
The Carnation Milk plant in Tupelo, Mississippi, has sat vacant since 1972. With the help of a $325,000 predevelopment loan from Housing Assistance Council (HAC), Old Historic Carnation has broken ground on a project to convert the factory into 33 units of affordable housing for seniors.
In the space of a year, the project’s construction prices nearly doubled, requiring Old Historic Carnation to raise additional funds three times. Their persistence and creativity, along with HAC’s support, kept this difficult project moving forward as they navigated all the challenges that could have easily ended the project.
These units are sorely needed in Tupelo’s high-poverty community, which faces a shortage of over 1,500 additional affordable senior housing units. All the units will be affordable to households under 80% AMI, and 26 of these units will also be affordable to households under 60% AMI.
“The Carnation Village project showcases how the ingenuity of a local housing developer and flexible and patient HAC financing add up to bring difficult and important projects to fruition. And now, more seniors in Tupelo will have somewhere safe, decent, and affordable to call home,” said Eileen Neely, director of lending at HAC.
Photo by Adam Robison, the Daily Journal.
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