Glendale assigns Metro Loma Apartments to Link Housing and approves $465,600 appropriation to stabilize project

The Glendale City Council and the Glendale Housing Authority on Aug. 12 voted to assign borrower/lessee responsibilities for Metro Loma Apartments to Link Housing and to appropriate $465,600 in city funds to help stabilize the 44‑unit affordable housing project at 328 Mira Loma Avenue.

City staff said the action is intended to prevent foreclosure, finance near‑term repairs and extend long‑term affordability at the family project. "This is Metro Loma, a 44‑unit affordable housing project located at 328 Mira Loma Avenue. It's a large family project," said Mike Fortney, deputy director, during the joint meeting.

Fortney told the council the housing authority previously bought the project's first‑position loan from CCRC to avoid foreclosure and had earlier allocated $240,000 for immediate capital repairs. Staff said the current request adds roughly $600,000 to the project of which Glendale's share is 77.6% — the council approved a $465,600 appropriation and a motion to release those funds. Fortney said about half of the current request will pay for repairs called for in the capital needs assessment and the remainder includes a developer fee to compensate Link Housing for taking responsibility for the troubled asset.

Staff described the total public financing for the project at about $2,650,000, with Glendale's share of roughly $2.2 million to date. All of the city funds to date were structured as loans to the project that staff said will be repaid over 55‑year terms at 3% simple interest. "All of the dollars that we are putting into the project, all the dollars that we've previously put into it, all the dollars we're asking for today, all of it is our loans that will be repaid back to Glendale in the next 55 years," Fortney said.

Under the approved framework, the existing lease (originally a 99‑year ground lease) will remain in place — staff said about 80½ years remain on that lease — and the affordability covenants will be extended so the property remains affordable for the full remaining lease term. Staff said existing loans will be extended to 55 years with 3% simple interest and the city will create two new loans: an affordable housing trust fund loan and a loan from the Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) fund.

Fortney said AB 846 permits changes to the project's regulatory agreement. As proposed, the authority will convert the project's rent structure so that units are set to TCAC (Tax Credit Allocation Committee) rents — described in the staff presentation as slightly higher than HCD (California Department of Housing and Community Development) rents and similar to HUD rents — in order to capture additional revenue from higher‑earning households without affecting very low‑income tenants.

The staff presentation noted that some longtime households in the building now report higher incomes — Fortney said "we still have some households that are rent burdened in the project, and we have several households that are making a $140,000 plus a year" — and that adjusting rents for higher earners should improve overall cash flow while preserving affordability for lower‑income residents.

Fortney also described a nonbinding proposal to offer current Metro Loma households who are "over‑housed" or rent‑burdened a right of first refusal to move into the forthcoming Pioneer project. He clarified the council was not asked to act on that proposal at the Aug. 12 meeting. "If Link Housing gives me an indication that they are in fact willing to do that, then I can bring that back to the housing authority for a separate discussion," he said.

Public comment included one caller who asked specifically about wheelchair accessibility. Fernando Rodan, identified on the call, said: "The one thing I didn't see in this report is any information about wheelchair accessible units ... there needs to be more accessible bathrooms on some of these apartments." In response, staff and council members said future and recent projects include set‑aside units for supportive services and that, at a minimum, about 50% of units in city projects meet basic accessibility standards; they also said staff can pursue larger accessible bathrooms in future developments.

Votes at a glance: - Housing Authority motion 1 (authorize executive director to execute amendments to the ground lease and affordable housing agreement): approved (motion moved/seconded; housing authority roll call recorded as unanimous). Housing authority vote record (as recorded in the meeting): Ajin Yan — yes; Garpetian — yes; Kasakhian — yes; Najarian — yes; [motion recorded as moved by housing authority member, second not specified]. - Housing Authority motion 2 (authorize executive director to execute new loan documents): approved (motion moved/seconded; housing authority roll call recorded as unanimous). - City Council resolution (appropriation of $465,600): approved by city council roll call (Asadrian — yes; Rotman — yes; Carpetian — yes; Kazakian — yes; Mary Nadjayan — yes). The motion to release funds was seconded and approved in the same roll call.

Next steps: staff said Link Housing has agreed to step in as borrower/lessee through a new LLC (328 Mira Loma LLC) and to engage National Core (management) for operations; Link Housing also signaled an intent to apply for tax credits and to use any surplus from future recapitalization to pay down city loans. Staff said it does not anticipate returning on the underlying transfer after today's approvals unless further action is requested or Link Housing confirms additional proposals (such as right‑of‑first‑refusal) that require separate authority action.