Standard Companies buys Pasadena senior housing, plans fix-up

Standard Companies’ affordable housing wing Standard Communities has purchased a 61-unit senior affordable housing complex in Pasadena for $31.2 million.

Standard plans to spend $5 million to renovate the Villa Raymond Apartments and maintain it as affordable for 55 years, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal.

The investment was made in a partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a California state agency and a nonprofit co-owner of the property, Housing on Merit.

California state agencies provided funding and allocated federal low-income housing tax credits for the purchase.

Standard principal Jeffrey Jaeger called it “a win-win for the residents and proponents of affordable housing.”

“This project was built in the 1920s and was in tremendous need of renovation. It also had a preservation-based Section 8 contract that is a subsidy from the federal government that was in jeopardy of expiring. We were able to preserve this funding,” he said.

Because Section 8 is a stable funding source, developers are able to finance redevelopments, as lenders are confident that revenue will be sufficient to service the debt over the long term.

Standard, which has offices in Century City and New York, plans to implement services and programming at the property, including free health and wellness programs. The project is Standard Communities’ fourth in the L.A. area. [LABJ] — Dennis Lynch