Project

Marion Park Apartments

Novato, CA, 1985

A 168-unit apartment project including 34 homes set aside for low- and moderate-income renters.

Marion Park Apartments is built on the former 8-acre Marion School site in Novato, California. The 168-unit project includes 34 homes set aside for low- and moderate-income renters, including two that are handicapped-accessible.The Marion Park Apartments was one of two major apartment complexes built in Novato in a 20-year period. Acquisition of the site, declared surplus in the early 1980s by the Novato Unified School District, was facilitated by Northbay Family Homes.

Northbay Family Homes was primarily responsible for facilitating the financing for Marion Park under the 80/20 rule: By making 20 percent of the units affordable to low-income families, a developer can obtain tax-exempt bond financing for 100 percent of the project.

Northbay Family Homes facilitated the tax-exempt financing and further secured federal funding available to cover some of the additional costs that were not covered by the mortgage financing. We also secured Marin Community Foundation funding from the Buck Trust, and we managed the subordinate permanent loans on the project.

Northbay Family Homes then managed a waiting list of income-eligible applicants for two years until the project was available for lottery and occupancy.

Our involvement in Marion Park Apartments included the following services from our Seven Points of Entry in real estate development:

Concept Development
Site Control (acquiring control over land and assessing its best use based upon community wants and needs)
Entitlement Approval (securing all public approvals and permits)
Securing the Construction Financing
Occupancy Activities (getting buyers into ownership units)
Post-Occupancy Asset Holding (managing the investments following completion and occupancy).