The Ambassador Hotel houses 134 residents, serves as critical affordable housing

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 22, 2023 / U.S. Bank

The Ambassador Hotel was built in 1911 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. (Photo by Toolbox Video Services)

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

The historic Ambassador Hotel has played a role in San Francisco’s history for 112 years, including serving as an informal hospice during the 1980s and 1990s AIDS crisis, and housing low-income individuals today.

Time along with wear and tear left the building in need of a comprehensive rehab, and San Francisco’s Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp., which acquired the Ambassador in 1999, is in the midst of a such a rehab project, which includes funding from U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance.

Impact Finance invested $67 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and provided a $71 million construction loan. It instituted a financial structure involving LIHTCS that included tax exempt and taxable construction financing.

“The Ambassador Hotel holds a rich and cherished history in the heart of San Francisco, particularly among the Tenderloin community,” said TNDC CEO Maurilio Leon. “During the 1980’s and 1990s, it served as a vital sanctuary for numerous AIDS patients, extending compassion and support to those who were without the means to care for themselves or connect with support networks. In the early 2000s, TNDC assumed the stewardship of this historic place, and today, in 2023, we take great pride in continuing its enduring legacy by preserving affordable housing for our community.”

Constructed in 1911 and on the National Register of Historic Places, the Ambassador Hotel is a six-story building with 134 single-room apartments that include full bathrooms and kitchenettes. The property houses very low-income individuals with an area median income between 30-60%.

Located on the corner of Eddy and Mason Streets, the Ambassador’s rehab included a mega structural upgrade featuring structural steel plus life safety upgrades, code upgrades and replacement of building systems.

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“At a time when other financial partners hesitated to move forward with an investment due to the complexities, we leaned in,” said Lisa Gutierrez, director of business development, affordable housing, for Impact Finance. “We’ve specialized in complex developments like this for over 30 years. The coordination to get to the finish line was intense, from understanding the relocation plan of this vulnerable resident population to aligning with the many public funding sources and rental subsidies, all while managing the building rehabilitation needs of this historic building.”

In addition to this financing, since 2005, the U.S. Bank Foundation has provided $225,000 in grant and corporate contribution funding to TNDC.

The project is expected to be completed in 2024, and Ambassador residents said they are excited about the changes.

“I really like the new modern features at the Ambassador – especially the additional cabinet space in my room,” said one resident.

“I enjoyed returning to my newly rehabbed unit. Everything is so new and works well,” said another.

“I especially like the outdoor furniture on the Ambassador’s courtyard patio,” another resident said. “I’m planning to do my schoolwork out there at one of the new tables.”

Over nearly 30 years, Impact Finance has provided $1.25 billion in debt and almost $800 million in equity within San Francisco’s larger five-county metropolitan statistical area.

Gutierrez said the bank’s motivation to be involved in the Ambassador project is the investment’s high impact.

“We’re investors with heart,” she said, “and our primary goal is to create lasting change in our communities.”

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from U.S. Bank on 3blmedia.com.

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SOURCE: U.S. Bank

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President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law expanded the eligibility of WIIN funding to include remediating lead in water that children drink, in addition to testing and compliance monitoring

July 24, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, at an event in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox and EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash, along with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Representative Katherine Clark, announced $58 million in grant funding from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to protect children from lead in drinking water at schools and childcare facilities across the country, including $5,372,000 for California. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, activities that remove sources of lead in drinking water are now, for the first time, eligible to receive funding through the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN). This grant funding, which is provided to states, territories, and Tribes, advances the Biden-Harris Administration’s Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan and unprecedented commitment to delivering clean water for all communities, especially historically marginalized and low-income communities.       

“Reducing lead in drinking water is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration and the EPA. We are taking a holistic approach to tackling this critical public health issue in California,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “By harmonizing regulations with historic infrastructure investments under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, while also providing technical assistance to disadvantaged communities, EPA is taking bold action to protect all our children from lead in drinking water.” 

EPA is also releasing a revised grant implementation document that outlines new authority provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fund activities that remove sources of lead in drinking water. The Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program funds voluntary lead testing, compliance monitoring, and for the first-time, lead in drinking water remediation projects. Lead remediation actions may include but are not limited to the removal, installation, and replacement of internal plumbing, lead pipes or lead connectors, faucets, water fountains, water filler stations, point-of-use devices, and other lead-free apparatus related to drinking water. 

The grant funding announced today is provided to states, territories, and Tribes through the WIIN. The grant program requires the use of guidance from EPA’s 3Ts (Training, Testing, and Taking Action) Program to support schools and childcare facilities in making progress on reducing lead in drinking water. Tools and resources from the 3Ts Program help states, territories, and Tribes provide technical assistance and take action to support the health and safety of children in early care and education settings. The program also helps advance President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which is helping address environmental injustice by ensuring that the benefits of federal investments in clean water, clean energy, and other programs reach communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution. 

Today’s announcement advances the goals of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan and EPA’s Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities. Under these initiatives, EPA is developing the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements to strengthen the Agency’s regulatory framework. EPA intends to propose requirements that, along with other actions, would result in the replacement of all lead service lines as quickly as is feasible. EPA is also investing $15 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to remove lead service lines. In addition to the dedicated funding for lead service line removal, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides another $11.7 billion in general funding through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund that can also be utilized for lead removal projects. 

Learn more about the Biden-Harris Administration’s Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan and EPA’s Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities.

Background 

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is dedicating an unprecedented $15 billion to removing lead from drinking water. The Voluntary School and Childcare Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program complements these funds to further reduce lead in drinking water. Under this grant, EPA allocates funds to eligible states and territories based on a formula that includes factors for population, disadvantaged communities, and lead exposure risk. For more information, visit: WIIN Grant: Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program.

Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.

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RSF Social Finance’s Racial Justice Collaborative recently funded the reactivation of a historic … [+] Black arts and business district in Oakland that revolves around Esther’s Orbit Room, a legendary former blues and jazz club.

Field service design

In the last decade and a half, the idea of ​​“impact investing” – in which the funds are used not only to achieve a financial return, but also to achieve social and environmental impact – has become increasingly popular in investment and social circles. According to an IFC report, $ 2.3 trillion was invested in Impact in 2020, an impressive amount, but that’s only about 2% of total assets invested globally in 2020.

RSF Social Finance is a pioneer in impact investing. While the Rockefeller Foundation first coined the term “impact investing” in 2007, RSF, based in San Francisco, has been working according to the underlying principles of the field since it was founded in 1984. RSF currently has over $ 230 million under management.

More recently, RSF has pioneered a new area of ​​investment, “regenerative finance”. As part of my research on purpose-driven businesses, I interviewed Jasper van Brakel, CEO of RSF, to learn more about this new way of investing and why it’s important to society and the planet. He told me: “In short, regenerative finance is an instrument to support change makers who are transforming our economy from an extractive to a regenerative economy.”

Please read more about regenerative finance and RSF’s work in this area in the following interview:

Christopher Marquis: You recently wrote that renewable finance is emerging as an essential instrument for solving systemic problems. Can you just describe what regenerative finance is? How is it different from finance as we know it? And why do you and RSF Social Finance think the time has come?

Jasper van Brakel, CEO of RSF

RSF social finance

Jasper van Brakel: Regenerative finance describes the use of various forms of capital to create healthy and just social and environmental systems.

The difference between this regenerative approach and traditional financing is that success in traditional, conventional financing is defined by the financial return on investment; positive social or environmental impacts, when they occur, are a by-product. With regenerative finance, the goal is to enable positive change with the financial return as a by-product. Regenerative finance sees money as a means, not an end. It’s about circulation, not accumulation.

The time for regenerative finance is now. The task of the capital markets is to enable restoration, regeneration and healing on a large scale. We can no longer hide from systemic racism, growing inequality or the climate emergency that affects everyone – if not all equally. Regenerative finance offers a third way that neither relies on the state to solve all problems nor expects free market capitalism to suddenly involve several interest groups in corporate management and realign itself in the long term. A fundamental change is required, all the ingredients for the solutions are in place, and we have this decade to do it.

Marquis: Can you give an example of a systemic problem affecting regenerative finance and how this is done?

van Brakel: Racial inequality is a systemic problem that many regenerative finance practitioners are working on. BIPOC entrepreneurs (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) face significantly higher hurdles when it comes to raising capital than their white colleagues and are regularly underfunded. Renewable funding approaches fill this capital gap in a way that addresses underlying structural barriers.

I admire the work of the Boston Impact Initiative Fund in this area. In selecting investments, the Fund uses a racial view that takes into account the ownership structure of the company, the opportunities it offers and the level of employee involvement in key decisions. And then it uses integrated equity financing, which could include loans, equity investments, direct public offers, and other tools, to tailor its support for the company.

Candide Group’s Olmina Fund is another good example. It provides capital to community development financial institutions and other high-impact lenders who support quality jobs and empowerment for low-income communities. At least 80% of these community borrowers are led by black people and women and participate in Olamina’s governance and solution design.

As the RSF, we began targeted work to combat inequality with the Racial Justice Collaborative, which uses philanthropic money to support U.S.-based social enterprises with BIPOC owners and executives. We have hired outside consultants with expertise in community wealth building and racial equity to play a central role in funding decisions, helping to ensure accountability to the communities we seek to serve.

Marquis: Tell me more about mission-first business structures and how they relate to regenerative finance. Which companies are adopting these structures?

van Brakel: Mission-first structures are ways to implement stakeholder control and ensure that companies can achieve the results that regenerative finance aspires to. These structures share three basic principles: Profits serve a purpose – they are reinvested in the company, shared with stakeholders, or donated. Control rests with stakeholders who are actively involved in or connected to the business, who cannot be bought or inherited. And governance and ownership are separate – outside investors have no voting or controlling interests.

This is a significant step beyond the benefit companies as it completely protects the mission and upsets the power dynamic. Shareholders are still an important player, just not the only one who can make decisions. When the decision-makers in a company do justice to the mission and all stakeholders, they have different incentives and significantly different results than decision-makers who only respond to investors.

There are large, multinational companies like Bosch that adopted this model decades ago; there are start-ups that bake a mission-first structure into their DNA from day one; and there is everything in between. From technology to food, from climate to land protection – there are many innovations in this area.

Purpose Foundation and Alternative Ownership Advisors are great resources to learn more about the specific structures and how they work.

Marquis: Can you give a few other examples of regenerative finance?

van Brakel: There’s a new five-year regenerative funding initiative called Funders for Regenerative Agriculture that works with people focused on balancing all elements of the agri-food system and continually replenishing natural resources. Others include Grounded Capital Partners, which also funds regenerative food systems companies, and the Beneficial State Bank. They all help to solve systemic problems with a regenerative mindset and a toolkit.

Another example is RSF’s Social Investment Fund, a debt fund dedicated 100% to social enterprise. Investors in the fund receive a nominal return but know their money will be used out there to create a better world. The entrepreneurs who have loans with the fund appreciate the fact that their lender and the sources of their capital are aligned with their mission. There is also an element of community governance: we bring groups of investors and borrowers together on a quarterly basis to discuss interest rates and advise us on adjustments.

Marquis: They said we can’t fix broken systems with our broken financial system. Why not? What is it that breaks the current system so badly? Do you see a role for everyday investors in addressing this?

van Brakel: Correctly. The incentives in the current financial system are geared towards maximizing profits, neglecting or ignoring the negative effects of doing business, and seeing money as a goal rather than a tool.

No matter what the amount, what your dollars do when you sleep is important. We like to think of impact investing and regenerative finance as something mutual funds, banks, and other financial institutions could do. And they should! Everyday investor, anyone with a bank account, 401 (k) or other financial asset, has a choice: What should my money make possible? Who makes these decisions on my behalf? What would a small change look like?

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Note: Our market forecast includes data from both San Francisco and the surrounding area including Oakland and Hayward.

San Francisco, also known as “The Golden Gate City”, is considered by many to be the cultural and industrial center of Northern California. Although the city is only 46.9 square miles, it has nearly 882,000 residents, making it the 16th largest statistical metropolitan area in the United States.

In addition to the city’s scenic location and unique culture, San Francisco County is also known for having one of the highest per capita incomes in the US, making it a very lucrative area for investors.

The state of the market

Like most other major cities, the real estate market in San Francisco has been heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. With that in mind, we’ve put together a rundown of the top trends to consider when investing in the Bay Area.

The vacancies are rented

The proportion of rental vacancies in San Francisco is currently 8.5%. an increase of 5.5% compared to the previous year. This increase in job vacancies can be linked to high numbers of coronavirus cases, as well as an increase in the number of companies that have switched to remote working as a result of the pandemic.

However, as the vaccine roll-out continues to escalate, this appears to be a short-term problem. As more companies require workers to return to the office, the percentage of vacancies should decline. In the meantime, landlords may need to offer open units at a lower price to fill some of their inventory. The average rental price has also fallen by 8.1% compared to the previous year.

The housing supply holds its own

While San Francisco currently only has a 2.1-month housing supply, it is actually better than the rest of the country, which only reported a 1.6-month supply in January 2021. In addition, 410 new single-family homes were issued in February 2021, almost 100 more permits than forecast, which should also continue to help reduce the low level of existing pollution.

The unemployment rate is making a comeback

As of January 2021, the unemployment rate in San Francisco is 6.7%, just above the national average of 6.3%. While this number is still higher than normal, it should be noted that it is on a downward trend as it peaked at 13.2% at the height of the pandemic. For investors, that decline is an indication that the rental vacancy issues they are facing are likely to be a short-term issue. As more tenants start securing jobs in the Bay Area, they will have to sign leases again.

Indicators of demand for residential property in San Francisco

All data and graphs are from Housing Tides by EnergyLogic

The demand for housing in San Francisco has seen some ups and downs during the coronavirus pandemic.

Unemployment trends

As a rule of thumb, the unemployment rate in San Francisco is typically below the national average, and although unemployment rose in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, that statement still holds true. Although the region’s tourism industry suffered a major blow during the pandemic, its position as one of the country’s key technology centers makes it more isolated than other metropolitan areas.

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