KeyBank Provides $64.7 Million of Financing for New Affordable Housing in Salt Lake City's Granary District

July 23, 2024, Salt Lake City, Utah

KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) announces today it is providing $64.7M in financing for a new affordable housing high rise development in Salt Lake City's Granary District—Silos Apartments.

The financing consists of $16.6 million in low-income housing tax credit equity (state and federal), a $21.3 million construction loan, and $6.3 million taxable equity bridge. The development is a 180-unit tax exempt bond project that includes a 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) integrated into the master planned 8.5-acre Silos development at Salt Lake City’s Granary District, one of the main entrances to the city's downtown area from highway I-15.

KeyBank’s Commercial Mortgage Group originated a $20.5 million privately placed forward committed rate locked permanent loan. KeyBanc Capital Markets also secured and sold $21.3 million in Utah Housing Corporation Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds for the transaction.

The sponsor for the project, Blaser Ventures, formerly known as BCG Affordable Residential Communities, is an affordable housing developer based in Salt Lake City.

Silos Apartments will provide 180 apartments consisting of 60 studio units, 100 one-bedroom units and 20 two-bedroom units for individuals and families earning no more than 60% of the area median income (AMI). The development will also include a separate parking structure financed by the Catalyst Opportunity Fund. This project is the first phase in a larger master mixed use development.

Silos development is located within the Granary District, one of the oldest mixed-use neighborhoods with shopping and recreational amenities within walking distance.

“In addition to becoming one of the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods, the Granary District will also help to address the substantial need for affordable housing in Utah,” said Robert Likes, president of KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI). “KeyBank is invested in the expansion of its community impact, and we continue to provide more capital to low-income communities throughout the country.”

Kortney Brown and Jeremiah Drake of KeyBank CDLI structured the financing for the transaction. Hector Zuniga of KeyBank Commercial Mortgage Group facilitated the permanent loan placement and Sam Adams of KeyBanc Capital Markets underwrote the tax-exempt bonds.

The Granary has been receiving much attention of late; it experiencing a burst of investment and revitalization. In October 2021, TechBuzz News' covered another high profile Granary District building project—INDUSTRY—a stylish, creative workspace blending vintage industrial design with state-of-the art offices and meeting spaces. It was lovingly created by husband and wife team, Jason and Ellen Winkler, and financed at $85 million by Goldman Sachs and previously mentioned Catalyst Investment Fund that will finance the Silos parking garage.

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) finances affordable housing and community development projects with the goal of stabilizing and revitalizing communities across all 50 states. As one of the top affordable housing capital providers in the country, KeyBank’s platform brings together construction, acquisition, bridge-to-re-syndication, and preservation loans, as well as lines of credit, Agency and HUD permanent mortgage executions, and equity investments for low-income housing projects, especially Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing. KeyBank has earned 11 consecutive “Outstanding” ratings on the Community Reinvestment Act exam, from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, making it the first U.S. national bank among the 25 largest to do so since the Act’s passage in 1977.