May 2025 Loan Round-up June 1, 2025

In May, IFF closed loans totaling approximately $12.9 million for 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. 

Gorman & Company

IFF closed a $1 million loan that provided Gorman & Company with predevelopment financing for the Vliet Street Lofts, an affordable housing development in Milwaukee, WI. The adaptive reuse project will transform a historic facility that was originally a department store and currently serves as a human services center into 62 units of rental housing affordable to residents earning 30 to 80 percent of the Area Median Income. The property will include 34 one-bedroom apartments, 30 two-bedroom apartments, and 15 three-bedroom apartments. Amenities in each unit will include kitchen appliances, washers and dryers, central air conditioning, and window treatments. All residents will also have access to a community room, fitness center, and storage units. Once construction is completed, Milwaukee County plans to lease 20,000 square feet of space in the building for a mental health service center.  

Planned sources of permanent financing for the $38 million project include 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, historic tax credits, loans from Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee, tax-exempt bonds, an Affordable Housing Program grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, and American Rescue Plan Act funds, among others. The IFF loan for the Vliet Street Lofts continues a long-term relationship with Gorman & Company that has enabled the developer to create hundreds of units of affordable housing across the State of Wisconsin through projects like the Uptown Lofts in Kenosha and the Landmark Hotel in Wausau.    

Kenwood Oakland Community Organization

IFF closed two loans totaling $2.45 million that provided Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO) with the capital needed to renovate the organization’s headquarters located in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. Founded in 1965, KOCO has worked to develop new generations of African American leadership who can contribute to stable, viable, and just communities where opportunity is not denied based on race or economic status. The organization has been headquartered on the first floor of the three-story, 8,717-square-foot facility being renovated since the late 1990s, and the upcoming renovation will redevelop the second floor to serve as KOCO’s new office and meeting space. The updated space will include a full‐service café and event space for both daytime and after‐hours use, including a spill‐out patio to the west. Once renovated, the third floor of the building will be leased by the Journey for Justice Alliance, an alliance of grassroots community, youth, and parent-led organizations across the country organizing to win community-driven alternatives to the privatization and dismantling of public school systems. 

IFF’s loans will bridge grants from the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago for the $5.175 million renovation, with additional sources of funding and financing being provided by The Chicago Community Trust and KOCO. IFF’s Real Estate Solutions team is serving as the owner’s representative for the project. IFF previously provided KOCO with a loan in December 2024 to facilitate the organization’s purchase of a facility nearby that will serve as a small business incubator and satellite office.

Missing Pieces Community Development Corporation

IFF closed a $151,800 loan that enabled Missing Pieces Community Development Corporation (Missing Pieces CDC) to refinance a loan from a traditional lender that was used to acquire two fleet vehicles to support the organization’s work. Missing Pieces CDC provides fare-free mass transit in Evansville, IN, to increase mobility, quality of life, safety, and self-sufficiency for residents with limited income. The nonprofit enables clients to get to medical appointments, access nutritious food, and secure sustainable employment, among other examples. By refinancing its existing loan and paying off a credit card, Missing Pieces CDC will save approximately $17,000 annually on debt service. Additionally, the organization is using the IFF loan to make a lump sum payment toward vehicle insurance premiums to achieve a 15 percent discount. 

Seeds of Health

IFF closed a loan that provided Seeds of Health with an additional $2.7 million for the renovation of the K-12 charter school system’s Tenor High School facility in downtown Milwaukee, WI. IFF previously provided the nonprofit with a $5.4 million loan in March 2021 that enabled Seeds of Health to acquire the 58,860-square-foot facility – which was divided into two parts – and to renovate the 30,140-square-foot south section for Tenor High School’s immediate use (learn about the project in our 2022 photo tour of the property). The property is located across the street from Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), which partners with Seeds of Health to offer dual enrollment to students in the Seeds of Health school network.

The organization used COVID Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to continue improving the facility and enhancing its workforce development and secondary education program so more young people could be dual enrolled at MATC. IFF’s most recent loan enabled Seeds of Health to expand the school’s enrollment capacity by an additional 50 student seats. The loan continued a relationship with Seeds of Health that began in 2006 and has included real estate support and multiple loans that have enabled the organization to grow from a single Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program into Wisconsin’s first K-12 charter school system.

The Habitat Company

IFF closed a $1.5 million loan that provided The Habitat Company with predevelopment financing for the renovation of Riverside Village, which provides 258 units of affordable rental housing in Chicago’s Riverdale neighborhood. Built in 1968, the property was last renovated in 2007 when it was acquired by The Habitat Company – a Chicago-based, full-service multifamily developer and property management company specializing in affordable housing development, acquisition, and community development. Riverside Village includes 39 buildings that house a mix of one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments that serve senior and family tenants earning 60 percent or less of the Area Median Income. Planned upgrades include the installation of new, energy-efficient plumbing and HVAC systems, accessibility improvements, new unit interiors, and improvements to the playground and basketball court.  

Additional funding and financing for the $80 million renovation is being provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity, and the City of Chicago’s Department of Housing, among other sources. A repeat borrower, The Habitat Company most recently used an IFF loan in June 2023 for predevelopment for the second phase of the developer’s Ogden Commons project.

TimeLine Theatre Company

IFF closed a $5 million loan that provided nonprofit TimeLine Theatre Company (TimeLine) with bridge financing while awaiting a TIF grant awarded to the nonprofit by the City of Chicago for the redevelopment of a 30,640-square-foot warehouse in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood to serve as the organization’s permanent facility. Since its founding in 1997, TimeLine Theatre has grown into one of Chicago’s leading cultural institutions, dedicated to producing theater that explores historical events and their connection to contemporary social and political issues. Planned renovations to the property include significant demolition and new construction to create a modern and accessible theater space with a 250-seat black box theater; rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, design studios, production areas, and storage; a specially designed education center that will expand the organization’s programming; a café and bar for audiences and community members; and office space. TimeLine’s former home was a 110-year-old former church the organization had outgrown. 

IFF is partnering with Fifth Third Bank to provide bridge financing for TimeLine’s $10 million grant from the city. Additional sources of funding and financing for the $46.3 million project include a zero-interest loan from the City of Chicago, a bridge loan from Cinnaire, capital grants from the State of Illinois, and a capital campaign with broad support from individual donors and the philanthropic community.