No images? Click here Rising Construction Costs and Impact on Affordable Housing ProjectsInsight from Elyse D. Cherry, CEO of BlueHub CapitalA confluence of events—the pandemic, business shutdowns, wildfires and increased demand—have caused a shortage of building materials across the US. Since the onset of the pandemic, the price of lumber has skyrocketed 280% and steel mill product prices are at a record high. As a lender to affordable housing projects, particularly offering construction loans, BlueHub is closely watching what impact these soaring prices will have on the industry. Some builders are modifying plans or holding off on construction to see if market conditions improve, others are forging ahead and augmenting their budgets. BlueHub’s patient and flexible capital is designed for times like these. Read more about this market issue. Be well, Elyse D. Cherry New fund to target communities of color most impacted by COVID-19BlueHub Capital received a $3 million financial guarantee from the Community Investment Guarantee Pool (CIGP), a program of LOCUS Impact Investing. The guarantee provides a financial backstop and helps BlueHub launch the new $15 million COVID-19 Housing, Opportunity and Wellness (C19-HOW) Fund. C19-HOW will address the devastating and inequitable health and economic impacts that COVID-19 is having on communities where most residents are low-income and Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color. It will also target funding to developers led by women and people of color. Read more. BlueHub receives $5.5 Million in Capital Magnet FundsBlueHub Capital received $5.5 million in Capital Magnet Funds (CMF) from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). The funding will address a major challenge: the lack of flexible debt capital that is especially critical for the completion of projects that create affordable housing, permanent supportive housing, and facilities that provide low-income residents with support services. Read more. BlueHub solar array on the roof of a mixed-income development in Boston's Jackson Square. Photo by Marilyn Humphries Photography MA expands access to solar energy for low-income residentsIn a major win for BlueHub and its fellow environmental advocates, landmark climate change legislation was signed into Massachusetts state law in March 2021. Current solar polices have limited access to affordable, clean, solar energy for low-income households. Provisions in the new solar law, spearheaded by BlueHub, will ensure everyone in Massachusetts has equitable access to solar energy, regardless of their income or where they live in the state. Read more about our work in MassLive. Borrower Spotlight: Affordable senior housing in Fort Worth, TXA large-scale revitalization effort is underway in Fort Worth’s Stop Six neighborhood after decades of disinvestment. This project is the product of eight years of planning by more than 40 public- and private-sector organizations, with the active input of Stop Six residents. With about $650,000 in financing from BlueHub, McCormack BaronSalazar Development is constructing Cowan Place, 174 affordable apartments for seniors. For BlueHub, Stop Six offers an important opportunity to extend the geographic reach of our capital for low-income areas and communities of color; it is part of our strategic expansion into Texas, a state underserved by CDFIs. Read more. Rendering provided by McCormack Baron Salazar Development, Inc. |