Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) announced today it has finalized the acquisition of Island Terrace Apartments from PNC Bank. Located at 6430 South Stony Island, across from the planned Obama Presidential Center, Island Terrace has 240 apartments for a broad range of incomes and household sizes.
Once owned by George E. Johnson Sr., founder of the famous Chicago-based cosmetic company (Johnson Products Company), and owned by PNC bank since 2015, POAH’s $29.5 million purchase of Island Terrace was greeted with enthusiastic support of 5th Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston. “PNC’s thoughtful sale of Island Terrace to POAH ends the anxiety that so many felt,” said Alderman Hairston. “POAH’s record of housing preservation, high-quality building and renovation work and thoughtful management makes us confident in the future of affordable housing in this fast-changing community.”
“The imminent building of the Obama Presidential Center has fueled fear as well as excitement with concerns about speculators and sky-rocketing housing prices,” said Kristin Faust, Executive Director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) whose allocation of 9 percent low income housing tax credits (LIHTC), along with a financial commitment from the City of Chicago, made the purchase possible. “We are delighted to be able to assist in POAH’s preservation of this and other housing developments in Woodlawn – which is, in many ways, a model for preserving mixed-income neighborhoods.”
“The continued availability of affordable rental housing for families and seniors is at risk across the country as a wave of affordable properties are being sold to owners with little or no interest in maintaining these properties at affordable rents, which is why we purchased Island Terrace Apartments five years ago,” said John Nunnery, Senior Vice President and Manager of Preservation Investments for PNC. “As properties like Island Terrace are sold, they are at risk of eventual conversion to market rents, which is why we are thrilled we found the right developer in POAH to move Island Terrace forward into the future.”
POAH’s acquisition marks an important victory for the coalition of community stakeholders, government and elected officials who have spent the past few years crafting an affordable housing strategy for Woodlawn as development of the Obama Center approaches.
POAH will take over property management through its affiliate, POAH Communities, immediately and begin renovations next year on the property which was built in 1969. The work will include improvements to the building’s major systems, modernization of the one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, and upgrades to resident community spaces. POAH will finance the acquisition with a loan from Merchants Capital and its own equity.
