LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1, 2021 — On November 30th, Ascenda Capital, in partnership with the California Municipal Finance Authority (CMFA), closed on the $97 million acquisition of Latitude33 Apartments, a 198 unit apartment community located in downtown Escondido, CA. Ascenda Capital will be transitioning the property, built in 2012, from a market-rate community to a rent-restricted community that provides housing for middle-income families. The transaction was approved by the Escondido City Council with a unanimous 5-0 vote during the City Council Meeting on October 27th. This acquisition marks just the second acquisition in San Diego County through California’s Essential Housing Program.
Ascenda Capital, acting as the project administrator, will be reserving all of the units at Latitude33 to provide housing for families earning between 60-120% of area median income (AMI) in San Diego County. These families include first responders, nurses, teachers, social workers, military personnel, and other workers that are essential to the community of Escondido. Ascenda will immediately decrease rents for new qualified residents at the property. Residents that do not qualify will not be displaced and will have full freedom to continue living at the community until they decide to move out.
“We are thrilled to be entering the essential housing space and creating much needed high quality affordable housing for the workforce of Escondido,” said Matt Avital, principal & founder of Ascenda Capital. “As we transition the property from market rate to affordable housing, we will be reducing rents at the property by an average of 26.5% when compared to market rents in Escondido. We are very passionate about affordable housing and look forward to giving hundreds of middle-income families in Escondido the opportunity to live in high quality housing directly within the community that they serve.”
The property, located at 515 Meander Glen, Escondido, CA 92025, is situated just a block from Escondido City Hall and the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. The property is located in the center of downtown, providing residents with convenient access to nearby retail, restaurants and local attractions such as Starbucks, Lowe’s, Escondido World Marketplace, Regal Escondido and Northgate Market, all within walking distance. The majority of the units at Latitude33 are 3-level townhomes with attached garages and private entrances, providing residents with a spacious living experience and luxurious shared amenities.
“We are thrilled to be providing middle-income families in Escondido with such a high quality of living at affordable rent levels,” said Ascenda’s Matt Avital.
Ascenda Capital is a privately held, mission-driven real estate investment and development company located in Beverly Hills, CA. Since its inception in 2018, Ascenda has acquired more than $1 Billion of multifamily, totaling over 3,000 units. Ascenda currently owns 18 multifamily properties across multiple states, including Texas, New Mexico, and California. For more information about Ascenda Capital or this acquisition, please visit ascendacap.com.
The California Municipal Finance Authority’s (“CMFA”) mission is to support economic development, job creation and social programs throughout the State of California while giving back to California communities. By supporting our member communities and their local charities with a portion of the revenue generated through the issuance of taxable and tax-exempt bonds for public, private and non-profit entities, the CMFA is able to directly contribute to the health and welfare of the residents of California. The CMFA Special Finance Agency (“Agency”) is an affiliate joint powers authority of the CMFA, created to enable the CMFA to help alleviate California’s housing crisis. Through the Middle-Income Housing Program, the Agency issues government bonds to acquire market-rate apartment buildings. These properties are then converted to income and rent-restricted units for middle income households, which are generally households earning 61% to 120% of AMI.
For more information about the CMFA please visit www.cmfa-ca.com.
