18 SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL APRIL 16, 2018

Conejo Valley group builds $20 million apartment projects with multiple funding sources.Nonprofit Homemaker

BY MICHAEL AUSHENKER Staff Reporter

So how exactly does Many Mansions — a nonprofit organization dedicated to help-ing low-income residents rebound from

or avoid poverty by providing quality housing at below-market rents — find “mansions” in this real estate market? Simply put, the Thousand Oaks-based

nonprofit could not fulfill its core mission without one key element: money.Many Mansions creates about three to

five new housing projects a year, with each averaging about $20 million, drawn from sources that include conventional bank loans, federal and state grants, and private donors. The organization has strategic geographic

expansion plans, with many more mansions on the horizon. The nonprofit is in the early phases of a 26-unit Sun Valley edifice with ongoing talks for two more in the Los Angeles market.“We just started our expansion into

Los Angeles County,” said Vice President of Housing Alexander Russell. “We’re definitely actively looking for sites in L.A.”Currently, Many Mansions’ many

mansions house between 1,200 to 1,500 residents, with the average household just

over two people per residence.“We own and manage 500 units plus we

manage an additional 205 units for the Area Housing Authority of the County of Ventura, for a total of 705 units,” said Russell.

Partnering on fundingAcross from Hansen Dam, at the Sylmar-

Lake View Terrace border, about 49 units of affordable housing are slated to materialize exclusively for formerly homeless veterans.With an estimated price tag of $20 million,

this complex — which will have on-site services, a community garden and picnic areas — will be built on a parcel of land owned by the city of Los Angeles. Many Mansions, in a joint venture with L.A. Family Housing, is currently working on securing funding for this development, with a hoped-for early 2019 construction start. The organization has a half-dozen other

joint ventures currently in play, with the Housing Authority of the County of Ventura, Los Angeles County Family Services and other partners. The 40-unit, 9.6-acre Ormond Beach Villas

in Oxnard will become the first permanent housing for veterans in Ventura County. In

September, Walnut Street Apartments — in tandem with the Area Housing Authority of the County of Ventura — will see 24 more units of housing open in Moorpark, opposite city hall; and the L.A. Family Housing and Area Housing Authority of the County of Ventura collaboration Mountain View in Fillmore promises 81 units replete with energy efficient

windows and LED lighting.“We are probably on pace to complete

two to three developments per year but we are building our pipeline,” Russell told the Business Journal. “With regards to financing, the first thing we do is borrow as much conventional bank financing as the rental revenue will support. We then fill the gap

Rendering: Ormond Beach Villas in Oxnard will provide housing for military veterans.

REAL ESTATE

Thousand Oaks: Many Mansions’ Villa Garcia has 80 units of below-market rent apartments.