LOS ANGELES, June 29, 2017– Hunt Capital Partners celebrated the recent completion of Capitol Lofts, a historic adaptive reuse development that transformed a 100-year-old building into112 loft-style apartments. Located at 390 Capitol Avenue in downtown Hartford,Connecticut, the project has been renamed “Capitol Lofts” andoffers32 low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) units and 89 market rate units.
The original structure was built in 1915. It had several owners over the century, most notably Pratt & Whitney who used the facility as a machine shop in the 1920s. The facility was also used as a warehouse and was later occupied by the Hartford Office Supply Co. until it eventually became vacant in 2005.
The acquisition, rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of Capitol Lofts brings critically needed affordable housing to the Frog Hollow neighborhood. Frog Hollow is one of the poorest urban districts in the city of Hartford and has a household median income of about $26,000. Capitol Lofts is an important catalyst for the redevelopment of the Frog Hollow neighborhood and a milestone for the Capital Region Development Authority, who set a goal of building 2,000 new downtown Hartford rental units by 2018.
“Capitol Lofts is an important development for Hartford in that it preserves a historic structure and creates affordable and market rate housing in a neighborhood that lacked new quality housing,” said Hunt Capital Partners Executive Managing Director Dana Mayo. “We would like to thank our partner, Aetna Insurance, whose investment was integral to helping Dakota Partners realize its goal of rehabilitating Capitol Lofts, and a great example of a corporate leader bringing positive change to its local community.”
Capitol Lofts provides 112multifamily units in one four-story, elevator-serviced mid rise building that is full of both character and charm. Its captivating aesthetic features exposed brick walls,tall windows and high ceilings comprised of preserved hardwood. The property offers nine one-bedroom and 14 two-bedroom LIHTC units set aside for households who earn up to 50 percent of the area median income; there are also 32 one-bedroom and 57 two-bedroom market rate units.All units have modern appliances including refrigerators,dishwashers, central air conditioning and walk-in closets. Community amenities include central laundry, community game and movie rooms, and an equipped exercise facility that includes studio space for yoga and Pilates.
The total development cost for Capitol Lofts was $36.5 million, including $1.5 million allocated for environmental remediation. Capitol Lofts was awarded $2.2 million in federal LIHTCs by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and also qualified for $6.46 million in federal historic tax credits. Hunt Capital Partners facilitated the syndication of the federal low-income and historic tax credits through its proprietary investor fund, Hunt Capital Partners Tax Credit Fund 18, with Aetna Insurance. Financing for the initiative closed in September 2015.
The development team for Capitol Lofts comprised Dakota Partners as the developer, Maggiore Construction as the general contractor and Cross key Architects as the architect. Construction began in September 2015 and was completed in December 2016. The grand opening for Capitol Lofts was held in April 2017.
About Hunt Capital Partners
Hunt Capital Partners (HCP) is the syndication division of Hunt Companies, Inc. (Hunt). HCP specializes in the syndication of Federal and State Low-Income Housing, Historic and Solar Tax Credits. Since the successful launch of its first fund in the fall of 2011, HCP has raised over $1.4 billion in tax credit equity. Founded in 1947, Hunt is a privately held company that invests in businesses focused in the real estate and infrastructure markets. The activities of Hunt’s affiliates and investees include investment management, mortgage banking, direct lending, loan servicing, asset management, property management, development, construction, consulting and advisory. For more information on Hunt Capital Partners, please visit www.huntcapitalpartners.com, or for Hunt Companies, please visit www.huntcompanies.com.
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