Standard Partners With Faring and Public Agencies to Expand Middle-Income Housing Opportunities Near Space X Headquarters, Tesla Design Studio, and Public Transportation
Standard Communities has led a public-private partnership that acquired Millennium South Bay Apartments, a 230-unit community in Hawthorne, utilizing California’s innovative public-private partnership structure designed to facilitate the creation of middle-income housing.
Standard collaborated with Faring, CSCDA Community Improvement Authority, and the City of Hawthorne on this acquisition.
The purchase price of this transaction is approximately $140 million. As part of the project capitalization, at closing the owners set aside $17.5 million in cash reserves to support the successful long-term operation and physical condition of the community.
In August, Standard Communities and Faring announced a joint venture, Standard-Faring Essential Housing, to create over $2 billion of “missing-middle” housing throughout California through both ground-up development and the acquisition and conversion of existing market-rate properties.
Millennium South Bay is the fifth middle-income housing transaction by Standard-Faring Essential Housing. These transactions have collectively created over 1,200 middle-income units, including the 349-unit Monterey Station, which was acquired in December.
Employing tax-exempt bond financing, CSCDA can acquire multifamily projects to provide much-needed housing for the middle-income and essential workers throughout California. CSCDA, upon taking ownership, works with Standard Communities as Project Administrator to immediately lower rents for new residents who qualify with incomes between 80% and 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
“Millennium South Bay is the only property in Hawthorne over 200 units and the majority of apartments in Hawthorne were built prior to 1990, said Chris Cruz, Standard Communities’ Managing Director of Essential Housing.
“This Public-Private Partnership to create workforce housing will ensure that middle-income families and essential workers can afford to live in a high-quality transit-oriented and mixed-use property, close to their work and many neighborhood amenities. Two-thirds of the units are reserved to those making below $82,000 a year, with one-third reserved for those making at or below $66,000 a year,” added Mr. Cruz.
Millennium South Bay apartments, a fully amenitized apartment community located at 12530 Crenshaw Boulevard in Hawthorne, is a mixed-use development of 230 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. Built in 2021, the five-story community sits on 2.5 acres and features ground-floor restaurant and retail space.
Millennium South Bay features a solar array producing 250,000kWh per year and is LEED Gold certified. The solar array offsets roughly 195 tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to 445,000 miles driven by an average car per year.
The transit-oriented middle-income community is located only two blocks from the Metro’s Green Line Crenshaw Station and has extensive amenities, including a luxury pool deck, dedicated coworking spaces, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a social lounge and resident bar, and outdoor courtyards.
“The average single-family home in Hawthorne is over $900,000, but the average salary for teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other essential workers is below $70,000. Creating this transit-oriented and mixed-use community for those middle-income essential workers will have a huge benefit for the City of Hawthorne,” said Jeff Jaeger, Los Angeles-based Co-Founder and Principal of Standard Communities.
“Fifty-five percent of renters in Hawthorne spend a third or more of their income on housing. Faring is pleased to partner with Standard Communities, the CSCDA, and the city of Hawthorne to make luxury living more affordable to essential workers and middle-income families,” said Jason Illoulain, CEO of Faring.
Based in New York and Los Angeles, Standard Communities has a national portfolio of approx. 13,500 apartment units and has completed more than $3.6 billion of affordable housing acquisitions and rehabilitations nationwide. Standard Communities strives to cultivate long-term public and private partnerships to produce and preserve high-quality, affordable, and environmentally sustainable housing.
Based in West Hollywood, California, Faring manages projects spanning multifamily, office, retail, hotel, medical office, and self storage properties. Faring is fully integrated and highly diversified with deep experience in development, acquisitions, construction management, and finance.
