News Release

Nov. 26, 2013

The King County Housing Authority and KeyBank Public Sector through its affiliate Key Government Finance, Inc., have closed on a pool financing that positions a KCHA portfolio  of 18 existing properties to take advantage of current low interest rates.  The tax-exempt loan of up to $85 million will allow KCHA to refinance existing debt and finance the acquisition of three additional properties.

“This transaction allows us to benefit from existing market conditions to reduce our borrowing costs and purchase three expiring-use Section 8 properties in King County,” said Stephen Norman, executive director of the King County Housing Authority. “This is a strategic move to restructure our debt, acquire additional housing and strengthen cash flow in the face of federal sequestration. It both protects existing low-income households, many of them senior citizens, in the “expiring use” Section 8 properties we are acquiring, and cushions the impact of ongoing federal cutbacks on the most vulnerable households we serve.”

Over the next 10 years, KCHA estimates the interest cost savings to be of approximately $6 million. The properties being refinanced are scattered across 13 cities and unincorporated areas of King County and provide 1,936 units of housing.

These savings enable KCHA to purchase three additional federally subsidized properties − Bellevue Manor, a 66-unit senior housing complex in Bellevue; Northwood Square, a 24-unit family housing complex in Auburn; and Patricia Harris Manor, a 41-unit senior complex in Redmond − to preserve them as affordable housing. The acquisition of a fourth King County “expiring-use” complex, Vashon Terrace on Vashon Island, and of five additional properties outside King County, are being financed through separate transactions.

KCHA administers a range of quality affordable rental and homeownership programs for residents of King County.  The Authority serves about 18,000 families, elderly and disabled households on a daily basis.