$34.5 million construction investment transaction to renovate senior community of 240 homes at Haley Sofge is part of a five-project redevelopment, preserving and developing 1,055 units of affordable rental homes
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Multifamily Housing on June 30, 2022 closed a Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) transaction with Miami-Dade County Public Housing & Community Development to substantially renovate its Haley Sofge community in Miami, Florida. Haley Sofge, built in 1973, is a 13-story building in need of substantial rehabilitation. This transaction will preserve 240 low-income senior housing homes, maintaining them as long term, stable, and affordable housing for senior residents in Miami.
The RAD transaction includes a $35.4 million construction budget ($145,000 per unit) fully financed through:
- A Commercial First Mortgage Loan
- 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits
The renovations will include changes to allow for additional one-bedroom homes, and additional on-site amenities including a common area with a kitchen, elevators, laundry facilities, and parking. Homes will feature high-end tile, Energy Star appliances, as well as air conditioning. Through RAD, the immediate and future needs of the project are addressed through the recapitalization, setting the project up for both financial and physical stability over the long-term.
This project is part of a large-scale redevelopment effort of Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, as outlined in Miami-Dade County Public Housing & Community Development’s River Parc Master Plan. This master plan, when fully implemented, will have up to 2,400 affordable, workforce, and market rate units with several other RAD conversions in this 22-acre area. This is the fourth RAD transaction to close at this site, following the newly constructed Gallery at River Parc, a 150-home family project adjacent to Haley Sofge, Paseo Del Rio, a 182-home family project on the same site as Haley Sofge, and Robert King High, a substantially rehabilitated, 315-home senior project.
About RAD
RAD was designed to help address the multi-billion-dollar nationwide backlog of deferred maintenance in the public housing portfolio and to stem the loss of affordable housing that could no longer be kept to decent standards. From the program’s inception through May 1, 2022, the Rental Assistance Demonstration has facilitated more than $14.5 billion in capital investment to improve or replace nearly 175,000 deeply rent-assisted homes, most of which house extremely low-income families, seniors, and persons with disabilities.
Under RAD, projects funded under the public housing program convert their public housing assistance to project-based Section 8 rental assistance. Under Section 8, residents continue to pay 30% of their income towards rent and the housing must continue to serve those with very low and extremely low incomes, as was the case when the property was assisted through the public housing program. Residents must be notified and consulted prior to conversion, are given a right to return to assisted housing post-construction so that the same tenants can enjoy these newly preserved and improved apartments and maintain the same fundamental rights they had as public housing residents.
RAD Resources
More programmatic information is available at the RAD website. Data on RAD is available at the RAD Resource Desk.
View photo essays and read case studies where RAD is working to successfully preserve and improve public housing for low-income families.
Watch an educational video for public housing residents or those new to the RAD program.