Rancho Mirage housing authority approves conditional $3.82 million loan to close financing gap for Crossings on Peterson Road

The Rancho Mirage City Council, acting as the Housing Authority Board, voted 5-0 to approve a conditional agreement to provide up to $3,824,846 in a residual receipts loan to Blue LLC to help close a funding gap for the Crossings on Peterson Road affordable housing project.

City staff told the board the Crossings on Peterson Road would deliver 116 affordable units targeted to families with a veteran head of household and that the units account for roughly 28% of the city’s extremely low‑income reallocation and 15% of its low‑income allocation. Marcus Aleman, the city’s housing manager, said the loan represents about 4.4% of the project’s $88,000,000 estimated cost and is needed so the developer can apply for state low‑income housing tax credits, tax‑exempt bond allocations and project‑based vouchers by a May 20 application deadline.

“The housing authority’s contribution is essential to closing the remaining financial gap and ensuring the project has the best possible chance of developing and maximizing other funding sources,” Marcus Aleman said in his staff presentation. Aleman described the requested assistance as a residual receipts loan of $3,824,846 and recommended the authority authorize the executive director to execute the agreement and take steps to effectuate it.

Mark Brigley, vice president for Blue LLC, told the board the commitment is necessary for the company to be competitive for scarce state resources and thanked the council for considering the request. “It is needed to close the funding gap so that we can compete for competitive financing at the state level,” Brigley said.

Council members spoke in favor of the conditional commitment, citing both legal obligations and local needs. One councilmember framed affordable housing as an economic and social priority, saying the project would help provide housing for employees at major local employers, such as Eisenhower Medical Center and area resorts, and added: “I’m gonna vote for this. I think we need to plug this now.” Another councilmember described the staff approach as a “creative” way to address a time‑sensitive financing gap and said the vote did not guarantee that financing would be secured.

A member of the public, Bridal Anderson, objected to the special meeting timing and use of city funds for what she described as a private developer’s financing shortfall. Anderson said she did not view the request as an emergency and expressed concern that the short notice limited public participation. “This is the city's money, and it should not be let out in this fashion,” Anderson said during public comment.

City staff and the developer emphasized that the action taken is conditional. Marcus Aleman and Mark Brigley both said the authority’s vote would allow Blue LLC to apply for the May 20 funding round, but that the loan would only be provided if the developer secures the required financing and other conditions are met. City staff also noted a clerical correction to the draft agreement: section 4’s term will be corrected to 55 years (it previously contained both 55 and 57 in error).

Mayor Pro Tem Moloto moved to approve the conditional agreement regarding Crossings on Peterson Road with Blue LLC for a residual receipts loan totaling $3,824,846 and to authorize the housing authority’s executive director to execute the agreement and take steps to effectuate it; the motion was seconded and carried 5-0. The board record states the outcome as approved and that no loan funds will be disbursed until the financing conditions in the agreement are satisfied.

The Crossings on Peterson Road project was the subject of a disposition and development agreement that the Housing Authority executed in December 2023. Staff and the developer said the project still faces financing risks: if Blue LLC misses the May 20 application deadline for tax credits and bond allocation rounds, the next opportunity would not be until September, likely delaying the project.

The board’s approval creates a conditional local contribution intended to improve the project’s competitiveness for state tax credits, tax‑exempt bonds and county project‑based vouchers, but the authority’s action is explicitly contingent on the developer closing the remaining funding gap and meeting the agreement’s conditions.