(Washington, DC) The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announces the selection of three lenders to participate in its $15 million Site Acquisition Funding Initiative (SAFI). The selected lenders, Unitarian Universalist Affordable Housing Corporation, Enterprise Housing Financial Services, and City First Bank of the District of Columbia, were each awarded a $5 million Master Loan. Each lender will leverage the DHCD funds with its own capital, at a match of at least one-to-one, to offer below-market interest rate site acquisition and pre-development loans to pre-qualified, non-profit housing developers for eligible projects in the District of Columbia. They will also market, underwrite, originate, and service the loans.

Many of the District's neighborhoods are rapidly changing due to escalating real estate prices. Non-profit housing developers face increased challenges in their efforts to quickly respond to market opportunities to acquire developable sites for affordable housing due to the lack of readily accessible financial resources. The SAFI was designed to provide quickly accessible, revolving loan funds for non-profit developers committed to the production, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable housing. This initiative will help provide a streamlined process to administer acquisition funding by lenders who are already committed to investing in our neighborhoods and communities.

Developers pre-qualified by DHCD are eligible to apply to the selected lenders for funds to purchase sites for development as affordable housing that meets the requirements of the Housing Production Trust Fund, and for pre-development expenses and purchase options on identified sites. They must also: 1) carry out the pre-development process and bring the eligible project to readiness to proceed to rehabilitation or construction; 2) apply for long-term gap financing to complete the project, including application to any DHCD Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) or Request for Proposals (RFA), with no preferential treatment; and 3) repay site acquisition loans to the lender as the eligible project secures construction financing.

In addition to being located in the District, prospective eligible SAFI projects must consist of at least 10 units for development as rental housing (except for special needs housing, which shall be at least five units) or at least five units for development as ownership housing.