In June, IFF closed loans totaling approximately $21.6 million for 14 community-driven projects in the Midwest. We’ve included information below about several of the loans and what the organizations that received them are doing with the capital. To learn more about IFF’s lending, visit our Capital Solutions page.
American Association of Single Parents
IFF closed a $772,500 loan for the American Association of Single Parents (AASP) that will enable the nonprofit to acquire an 83,300-square-foot facility in Dolton, IL, that will centralize all of AASP’s programming under one roof and enable their continued expansion. Founded in 2001 by Dr. Nicole Howell-Scott, AASP helps single-parent families achieve economic security and become agents of change in their communities. With real estate support from IFF provided through a partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository, AASP opened a 2,600-square-foot food market in September 2021 for families experiencing food insecurity. The building AASP is acquiring is where the food market is located, and its purchase is part of the organization’s long-term strategy to continue expanding its capacity to meet the needs of single-parent households.
After renovations are completed, AASP intends to operate the facility as a full-service recreation and community resource hub. The two-story, mixed-use building will continue to house AASP’s food market, in addition to child care and afterschool programming, a nonprofit incubator, a recreation center, space for community gatherings, and locally owned retail businesses that will strengthen the community and provide AASP with a new source of revenue as a result of their lease payments.
Beloved Community Family Wellness Center
IFF closed a $1.5 million loan for Beloved Community Family Wellness Center (BCFWC) that will enable the nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) to acquire and renovate an 8,588-square-foot facility in Blue Island, IL. BCFWC has three locations and will replace its south suburban satellite location. Serving more than 10,000 patients annually, BCFWC’s mission is to provide holistic, comprehensive, accessible, affordable, and quality primary health care and social service programming to its clients. The organization’s plan to relocate its existing health center in Chicago’s south suburbs will provide BCFWC with more than 2,800 square feet of additional space, create eight new full-time jobs, and help the nonprofit build its net assets by transitioning from a leased facility to one that it owns. To ensure that all patients will continue to be able to access its services, BCFWC will provide transportation services to its current patients who might not otherwise be able to travel to its new location, and to new patients living in Blue Island and surrounding areas.
Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corporation
IFF closed a $427,800 loan for Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corporation (Central Detroit Christian CDC) that will help facilitate the nonprofit’s rehabilitation of two single-family homes and a duplex in the West Virginia Park neighborhood in Detroit, MI. Founded in 1993 by six area churches, Central Detroit Christian CDC’s mission focuses on education, employment opportunities, and economic development in north-central Detroit. The organization will gut rehab all four housing units to return the properties to productive use before selling them to neighborhood residents at below-market rates to facilitate homeownership and generational wealth building in the community. Central Detroit Christian CDC will assist buyers with applications for grants of up to $25,000 to be used for down payments. The project will create four units of quality housing in a distressed census tract, contributing to the revitalization of the neighborhood.
Homekeep
IFF closed a loan of approximately $1.54 million that provided Homekeep, LLC with financing for the acquisition of three scattered-site residential properties in gentrifying neighborhoods on Chicago’s Northwest Side to preserve eight units of housing affordable to residents earning no more than 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). Homekeep is a subsidiary of Duo Development (Duo), an innovation studio/lab headquartered in Chicago.
Duo purchased the properties from the Chicago Metropolitan Housing Development Corporation, which sought emerging developers of color who share the organization’s commitment to preserve affordable housing in the city. Duo is leveraging the Chicago Department of Housing’s Preservation of Existing Affordable Rentals (PEAR) Program for the project, which is a refinancing tool that provides low-interest loans to properties with existing private debt located in appreciating neighborhoods in exchange for restrictions that ensure rents remain affordable for low- and moderate-income households for at least 30 years. The goal of the program is to provide incentives to preserve naturally occurring affordable rental properties facing rising market rate pressure, maintain the existing tenants, protect occupancy for households with incomes at or below 80 percent AMI, and ensure properties remain financially healthy and in sound physical condition. IFF’s loan will provide Duo with upfront capital to facilitate the purchase of the homes before receiving PEAR loans within six to 12 months of the acquisitions closing.
Housing Opportunity Development Corporation
IFF closed a $250,000 loan for the Housing Opportunity Development Corporation (HODC) that provided the nonprofit developer with capital to extend the affordability for a 48-unit, Low Income Housing Tax Credit-financed, single room occupancy property in Evanston, IL. A nearly $4 million rehabilitation of the Claridge Apartments was completed in February 2002, when the building reopened for new and former tenants. The building originally had a shared bathroom on each floor, single rooms with a Murphy bed, and one kitchen for the entire building. Improvements included creating kitchens and bathrooms in each apartment, along with the installation of an elevator and the creation of four accessible units. The property has successfully served residents with very low incomes for more than 20 years.
Lawndale Christian Legal Center
IFF closed a $1 million bridge loan for Lawndale Christian Legal Center (LCLC) that will provide the nonprofit with capital to be used as a source loan as part of a $19.4 million New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) transaction while awaiting the disbursement of a capital grant from the State of Illinois. LCLC is currently renovating a 32,769-square-foot building in the North Lawndale neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side that will serve as a residential workforce development center for justice‐involved young people ages 18-24 in the community.
The building’s 20 housing units will include private bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchenettes, and the facility will also include shared space for socializing and meetings, a commercial kitchen, dining area, a computer room and laundry room. LCLC is the only community-based legal practice in Chicago dedicated to the legal defense of juveniles and emerging adults, and the organization approaches its work holistically to help clients secure better outcomes in life through wraparound case management that includes legal, social, psychological, housing, and job training services. IFF previously provided a $6.5 million bridge loan to LCLC for the project in January 2023. Additional funding and financing for the project is being provided via NMTC equity, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago’s Affordable Housing Program, the Illinois Housing Development Authority’s Housing for Justice Involved Individuals Program, private foundations, and individual donors, among other sources.
Lutheran Development Group
IFF closed two loans totaling $450,000 that provided Lutheran Development Group (LDG) with bridge financing while awaiting American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant funding awarded to the nonprofit by the Missouri Department of Economic Development for the acquisition of six properties in the Dutchtown and Mt. Pleasant neighborhoods in St. Louis, MO. LDG will renovate the properties for neighborhood benefit, including affordable housing. LDG’s mission is to foster vibrant and economically diverse communities in the St. Louis metro area through real estate development, direct community partnership, and Lutheran church congregational engagement. The properties being acquired by LDG are central to its plans for a $4 million project focused on addressing challenges impeding community health in the neighborhoods referenced above. LDG intends to stabilize eight vacant buildings, fully renovate five vacant buildings, and improve a local park by replacing broken playground equipment to achieve its goal of improving the built environment, creating new affordable housing, activating underutilized green spaces, and providing opportunities for local small businesses to flourish.
The Habitat Company
IFF closed a $1.5 million loan to provide predevelopment financing to a subsidiary of The Habitat Company for the second phase of the nonprofit developer’s Ogden Commons project, which will create 75 units of affordable housing in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. Ogden Commons is a 10-acre, multi-phase, mixed-use development that will combine health services, new retail businesses, and high-quality housing. The housing created in phase two will consist of 57 units for residents with incomes below 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and 18 market-rate units. 30 of the units will receive rental assistance through the Chicago Housing Authority’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program. The units will include a mix of townhomes, flats, and multistory buildings for families. The phase two development will also include a 50,000-square-foot building with retail and office space.
Ogden Commons residents will have access to landscaped outdoor areas with patios, a children’s play area, and outdoor walkways throughout the development. Interior amenities will include a computer room, fitness center, and Energy Star-certified appliances. Expected to open in September 2025, phase two of the project is being funded and financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity, Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credit equity, capital from the Chicago Housing Authority, funding from the Illinois Housing Development Authority, and a TIF grant from the City of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development.
Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio
IFF closed a loan of approximately $224,000 for Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio (RTNEO) that refinanced a line of credit for the nonprofit headquartered in Akron, OH, and provided the organization with bridge funding for a grant awarded to it by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. RTNEO works to preserve home ownership and housing affordability for families that cannot afford to make critical home repairs on their own. RTNEO recruits, screens, and manages local contractors who complete home repairs for the organization’s clients; provides items to clients like smoke detectors, handrails, grab bars, and other items needed to live safely; and assists other agencies with home repair-related projects in its service area. The grant awarded to RTNEO provides reimbursement after projects are completed, and IFF’s loan will enable the organization to pay contractors before receiving reimbursement.
The Model Group
IFF closed a $7.9 million loan for a subsidiary of The Model Group that refinanced an existing IFF TIF loan for The Landing (featured in the photo above), a mixed-use development in Fort Wayne, IN, that includes 70 apartments with a mix of market-rate units, units affordable to tenants earning less than 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), and units affordable to tenants earning less than 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), as well as 56,000 square feet of commercial space. The Landing was the location of the city’s first post office (1820), hotel (1823), newspaper (1833), theater (1851), and railway station (1853), and The Model Group preserved the historic architecture when the 131,000-square-foot complex was rehabbed and transformed into one of the city’s most vibrant community centers.
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