The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announces a $10.3 million loan guarantee for the County of Los Angeles, California for the Vermont Manchester Commercial Project.
The loan guarantee will be used to finance the development of a new 64 thousand square foot community-serving retail space within the Vermont Manchester Transit Priority Project, a mixed-use development. The Vermont Manchester development will transform a 4.2-acre site that has been vacant since 1992. In addition to the retail development, the site will accommodate a charter boarding school focused on at-risk youth and financed separately from the other uses on the site. Considering the location of the site as one of the busiest transit stops in Los Angeles County, it will also include a transit plaza, as well as an improved pedestrian and cycling connection to the Silver Line bus rapid-transit station.
“The purpose of the Section 108 loan guarantee is to facilitate community development,” said Arthur Jemison, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Community Planning and Development at HUD. “This opportunity highlights exactly how a community can benefit from HUD programs. This loan guarantee will provide the County of Los Angeles the necessary services to thrive.”
The loan guarantee assistance was awarded through the Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program (Section 108), which provides Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) recipients with the ability to leverage their annual grant allocation to access low-cost, flexible financing for economic development, housing, public facility, and infrastructure projects.
This project will meet the Community Development Block Grant national objective of benefit to low- and moderate-income persons on an area basis.
The Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program allows local governments to leverage 5 times their current CDBG award into federally guaranteed loans large enough to pursue physical and economic revitalization projects capable of redeveloping entire neighborhoods. Public investment, such as Section 108 loans, can spur private economic activity, providing the resources or the confidence that private firms and individuals may need to invest in distressed areas. Read more about HUD’s Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program.
As the need for economic recovery and community development continues, HUD’s Section 108 program serves as a critical source of federal financing that helps to move projects forward and build strong, sustainable, inclusive communities.