COLUMBUS, Ohio (Dec. 19, 2005) – Residents of a Missouri senior apartment community soon will have new appliances, kitchen cabinets and other upgrades funded through a federal program for the preservation of affordable senior housing.

Alexian Court, an affordable housing property for low-income seniors in St. Louis, will use $4.28 million in loan proceeds to refinance at a significantly lower interest rate, improve resident safety and comfort and bolster its replacement reserves.

New cabinets, countertops, sinks and floors will modernize the dated units. The $676,975 in repair funds will also be used to replace windows and the roof, improving energy efficiency.

Lancaster Pollard structured the refinancing and underwrote the loan, which is insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and fixed at a low interest rate for 30 years. Alexian Court was built in 1987 using a HUD Sec. 202 direct loan. It was unable to refinance until HUD revised the program, which changed the way 202 properties determine how much they can borrow to renovate or reposition their properties.

"As more organizations across the country take advantage of this new opportunity, the process has become significantly smoother," said Thomas Brown, senior vice president of Lancaster Pollard. "Providers finally have a viable option to preserve affordable senior housing, and the pace at which these refinancings are being accomplished attests to that."

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