KeyBank Provides $16.2MM for 50 Units of Permanent Supportive Housing at Drexel House in Olympia, Washington

CLEVELAND, June 8, 2016 /3BL Media/ — KeyBank announced it will provide a total of $16.2MM to help develop 50 units of permanent supportive housing for veterans and homeless individuals at Devoe II Housing. Living options will be provided for individuals making at or below between 30 and 50 percent of the area median income. The $16.2MM total is comprised of a $6.9MM construction loan and a $9.3MM equity investment. Aubre Dickson and Jennifer Seamons of Key’s Community Development Lending & Investing (CDLI) team arranged the financing.

“Our CDLI platform allows us to meet a range of needs in the affordable housing space by providing construction, acquisition, bridge-to-re-syndication, and preservation loans, as well as lines of credit, Agency and HUD permanent mortgage executions, and equity investments in Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects,” said Robert Likes, national manager of KeyBank’s CDLI team. “Our investment in Devoe II Housing demonstrates the impact of a flexible lending and investing platform. We are proud to support both veterans and homeless individuals.”

Devoe II Housing is the second phase in a larger “Drexel House” project. Drexel House was developed in 2007 in a community effort to eliminate homelessness and begin addressing the lack of affordable housing resources. Its purpose is to serve single men and women – the highest underserved homeless population in the community. Thurston County has one of the largest military presences in Western Washington, due to its proximity to Joint Base Lewis–McChord. In the nine-year history of the program and of the hundreds of people served, nearly 50% have a military background. Affordable permanent supportive housing is the best and most effective response to addressing chronic homelessness.

As Bonnie Hill of Catholic Community Services explains, “There is a direct link between military trauma and veterans who are experiencing homelessness. The faces of homeless veterans are not from the Vietnam Era, as it was for decades, but rather young and middle-aged veterans from Desert Storm and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It is a difficult transition from military life to civilian life, whether a veteran has been on the battle grounds first hand or not. Some do not come home, and those who do may come home a very different person with very complex needs.”

Residents at Devoe II Housing will have access to select supportive services administered by the Catholic Community Services (CCS) of Western Washington, as an extension of its Drexel House Shelter program. Supportive services will be provided at the program with assistance and coordination from CCS housing stability case managers. Veteran-specific services will be included and provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs, and Supportive Services to Veteran Families (a program of Catholic Community Services).  In addition, the Metropolitan Development Council will provide assessments, military benefits, medical and mental health care, and employment opportunities. For additional services, needed off-site, the program will provide transportation with a van gifted by Intercity Transit.

In addition to serving veterans and homeless individuals, Devoe II Housing will serve as a safe place for healing and hope. The property will be a campus of three buildings that include: 35 units of permanent supportive housing and a 16-bed emergency men’s shelter (currently in operation), as well as the 50 new units for veterans. The campus will have a dog park for assisted animals, outdoor seating, a raised garden, and a walking path around the retention pond with a bridge that connects the new Devoe II to the existing buildings. The bridge serves as a symbolic representation of CCS bridging the gap between military life to civilian life -- the pathway to coming home.  

 “As a community we are choosing to wrap our arms around our military men and women as a priority to ensure that they get the help and care they not only deserve, but have earned,” said Hill.

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About Key Community Development Lending and Investment
KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) helps fulfill Key’s purpose to help clients and communities thrive by financing projects that stabilize and revitalize communities. Experts in complex tax credit lending and investing, Key is one of a handful of affordable housing lenders in the country with a platform that brings together balance sheet, equity, and permanent loan offerings. CLDI has a substantial investment and loan portfolio worth more than $2 billion, 90% of which is Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects. For its ability to lend to, invest in, and serve its communities –especially low-to-moderate income communities – KeyBank has earned eight consecutive “Outstanding” ratings on the Community Reinvestment Act exam, from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

About KeyCorp: KeyCorp was organized more than 160 years ago and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, Key had assets of approximately $98.4 billion at March 31, 2016.  Key provides deposit, lending, cash management and investment services to individuals and small and mid-sized businesses in 12 states under the name KeyBank National Association. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.