The Maple Housing Foundation, a relatively new Beverly Hills-based housing nonprofit, is looking to issue $110 million in municipal bonds for the acquisition of the Diamond Park Apartments, according to an agenda item for Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
If everything goes through as proposed, the financing plan would allow Maple Housing’s acquisition/operation of the GHP Management complex on Solamint Road in Canyon Country to add 141 deed-restricted affordable housing units to the city’s supply for decades.
The city received a request from Maple Housing Foundation regarding the bond issuance for “the acquisition, rehabilitation, improvement and equipping of a multifamily rental housing project located at 27940 Solamint Road.”
The complex has a total of 256 units, and 51 of them are currently considered affordable, meaning the rents can only reach a certain amount based on the current adjusted median income, or AMI.
Right now, 25 of the units are deed-restricted through 2036 to cost no more than 50% of the AMI, and 26 units are 80% of the AMI. (For reference, a one-bedroom apartment restricted to 80% of the AMI can cost no more than $2,499 per month; that same unit at 50% of the AMI tops out at $1,561 monthly, based on the latest available data from the state Treasurer’s Office.)
Under the new plan, the number of units available at 50% AMI increases to 51, and there would be a total of 141 units at the 80% AMI cost.
That move makes 75% of the units in the complex affordable.
The move does not put any financial liability or obligation on the city; due to the city being the local jurisdictional agency, it must authorize the hearing on the bond issuance.
Not much is known about Maple Housing, a nonprofit that incorporated in August, according to state records available online. There were no other similar projects found in a records search. Its representatives were not immediately reachable Monday.
The Diamond Park complex is currently listed to GHP Management, a Beverly Hills-based real estate management company that recently drew heat from L.A. County housing officials regarding the conditions of several of its apartment complexes.
Residents came to Santa Clarita City Hall for a pair of council meetings in February, regarding problems with a number of buildings in and around an area off Jakes Way, also in Canyon Country.
By the second meeting, City Manager Ken Striplin had sent a letter to L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, urging action over multiple concerns from residents, including mold infestations.
A routine inspection of Diamond Park in March showed a half-dozen violations, including mold, broken screens, stairs in need of repairs, cast-off debris and problematic sewer lines.
A follow-up inspection in April indicated the problems had been addressed.
GHP representatives did not return a request for comment Monday.
