NorthMarq’s Washington, DC office arranges $8.3 million construction-to-permanent loan for $90 million SOME project (The Conway Center)

WASHINGTON DC (December 8, 2015) – NorthMarq’s Washington, DC regional office arranged a $8.3 million FHA 221 (d)(4) construction-to-permanent loan for The Conway Center.The $90 million project, occupied by the interfaith, community-based 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, SOME (So Others Might Eat), was capitalized with public funding, tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, and low-interest loans. The 320,000-square foot green building will occupy an entire block of Benning Road, NE, and will be the first facility in the District to combine affordable housing, job training, and health care services in a single location. The property is located directly across from the Benning Road Metro station, east of the Anacostia River. Construction for SOME’s facility, which features staff offices and retail space, began Nov. 15 with housing opportunities for citizens scheduled to be available in 2017. 

The Conway Center will annually provide 172 homeless and low-income men and women with affordable housing and 15,000 underserved men, women, and children with comprehensive care at the Medical and Dental Health Center operated by Unity Health Care. An estimated 300 adult students will receive job training at SOME’s Center for Employment Training (SOME CET) and 30 homeless and low-income families will be provided with affordable housing. The financing provided by NorthMarq Capital contributed to the $86.7 million that has been raised for the project thus far. According to their website, SOME is currently seeking the final $3.3 to complete the development of The Conway Center. Any donation will be matched $1 for $2 by The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.

“We are appreciative of everything that the NorthMarq team did to make The Conway Center a reality. They immediately understood the positive impact that The Conway Center would have on residents in the District and were committed to help make the financing possible,” said Troy Swanda, SOME’s Director of Housing Development. “This was a very complicated development and the NorthMarq team never shied away from the challenges we faced.” 

This transaction was a finalist for Urban Land Institute’s 2018 Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable & Workforce Housing Award. Learn more here.