HTG, Spectra to convert Palm Beach County apartments into affordable housing

What was once a market-rate apartment community in Belle Glade, a small city in western Palm Beach County, is on the eve of being converted into affordable housing.

Housing Trust Group and the Spectra Organization just announced they’ve closed on the financing necessary to launch their $22 million rehabilitation of the Covenant Villas.

County records show HTG bought the 144-unit community at 600 Covenant Drive for $4.79 million, or about $33,263 per apartment. The seller was Noah Development, a local housing firm that built the Covenant Villas in 1988.

HTG and Spectra, an affiliate of the county housing authority, will now begin renovating the community’s 18 garden-style buildings, with an expected completion date of September 2017. That means new metal roofs, impact-resistant windows, HVAC systems and interior finishes.

When open, units at the project will be reserved for residents earning equal to or less than 60 percent and 33 percent of the county’s area median income. The county’s housing authority will also dole out vouchers for 116 of the project’s units for potential tenants who can’t afford the reduced rents.

To finance the project, HTG sold its 9 percent low-income housing tax credit to Raymond James Tax Credit Funds for $18.2 milion. The developer also closed on a $1.9 million loan from National Lending Partners, a $13.5 million construction loan from TD Bank, and was awarded loans totaling $2.2 million from Palm Beach County. — Sean Stewart-Muniz