People Updates:
People on the Move
Thank you #AffordableHousingFinance for featuring Nedrah Barnes and David Eisenman in your People on the Move article!
Nedrah was promoted to CFO this year and David was promoted to Associate Director of Acquisitions!
We’re excited for their growth at Merritt and to be featured in People on the Move.
Read the full article here!
Welcome to the Board, Ken!
Join us in welcoming Ken Trigueiro to Merritt’s Board of Directors!
Ken currently serves as CEO & President of People’s Self-Help Housing (PSHH).
“It’s an exciting honor and genuine privilege to join the ranks of such highly esteemed members of the board of Merritt,” shared Ken Trigueiro. “Merritt’s deep commitment to meeting local communities’ needs, through a strong and compassionate team, has delivered clearly impactful results and admirable investments in affordable housing. Their additional investments to foster and support emerging industry leaders to reach the next level of skill building and effective leadership have been extra impressive.”
We are thrilled to have Ken on our board and utilize his expertise!
Congratulations on your Promotion, Carla!
We are excited to announce the promotion of Carla Vásquez-Noriega to Senior Investor Relations Manager!
Carla has been with Merritt since October 2022 and has been pivotal to the success of Merritt’s investor relationships and fund development. Earlier this year, Carla oversaw the final closing of Fund 24, the second largest fund in Merritt’s history!
Join us in congratulating Carla on her promotion!
Merritt Spotlight: Jonathan Donis
Thank you to Jonathan Donis, a 2024-2025 Merritt Scholar, for sharing your experience and passion for affordable housing! We are thrilled to have you as a Merritt Scholar and the industry is lucky to have you.
See Jonathan’s full Q&A here!
Project Updates:
My Angel Grand Opening!
Merritt’s CEO Ari Beliak and Investor Relations lead Carla Vásquez-Noriega had a wonderful time celebrating the grand opening of My Angel!
We are thrilled to partner with LA Family Housing, LAFH Builds, and Comerica Bank to make this impactful housing project a reality. My Angel is a new construction development in LA’s San Fernando Valley. The project will contain 53 studio apartments to be rented to special needs and homeless households earning less than 30% of AMI.
Merritt is proud to have provided $12.9 million in tax credit equity capital. Thank you as well to our financing partners at Comerica Bank, the City of Los Angeles Housing Department, the Los Angeles County Development Authority, the California Community Reinvestment Corporation, the HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, and the California Department of Housing & Community Development.
Thank you to Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, Elda Mendez-Lemus, and Katherine Schipper for being fantastic partners on this project.
Read our original closing announcement here!
Pallesen Place Grand Opening!
Congratulations to RURAL COMMUNITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION on the grand opening of Pallesen Place (formerly Collier Avenue)! Pallesen Place is a new construction development in Nice, CA. The project contains 29 one-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom units to be rented to special needs, homeless, and general low-income households earning 30-60% of AMI.
It is Lake County’s first project funded under the state No Place Like Home supportive housing program and includes 19 units specifically for special needs households with wrap-around on-site supportive services provided by the Lake County Behavioral Health Services and RCHDC.
Merritt is proud to provide $15.2 million in tax credit equity capital to RCHDC for this impactful project that showcases our partners’ ability to provide and execute financing solutions to increase California’s supply of affordable housing.
Thank you to additional financing partners including construction lender JPMorganChase, the California Department of Housing & Community Development, AHP Lender Tri-Counties Bank, the LAKE COUNTY HOUSING COMMISSION, the California Department of Developmental Services, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.
Read our original closing announcement here!
Announcements:
Merritt is Hiring!
Merritt is hiring!
We are looking for an Investor Relations Coordinator to join our team and support our effort in investing in affordable housing and people to build a stronger California!
Sound like you or someone you know?
See our careers page here!
Find the full job description here!
Share with your network! We’re excited to grow our team with a mission-oriented IR Coordinator!
Affordable Housing Finance: Syndicators Best Practice
Thank you #AffordableHousingFinance for including Merritt in your “Syndicators Share Best Practices for Underwriting LIHTC Deals” article!
Our Senior Investor Relations Manager, Carla Vásquez-Noriega, was featured in this year’s article. Carla shared, “Be realistic about a project’s strengths and weaknesses. Consider larger operating budgets to account for increases in insurance and other costs and high reserves and DSCRs (debt-service coverage ratios) to account for future uncertainty.”
Read more here!
ELPN February Kickoff Event!
Emerging Leaders Peer Network (ELPN) is having their 2025 kickoff event February 20th! This is a great opportunity for folks new to the field to network, make friends, and learn from peers.
Learn more and register here!
Time: February 20, from 5:30PM – 7:30PM
Location: Kinfolx, 1951 Telegraph Avenue Oakland, CA 94612
Ticket cost: $10 (reach out if you need support–cost should not be a deterrent!)
Merritt is proud to sponsor Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California (NPH)‘s ELPN group through Commitment to California!
In case you missed it, Merritt’s Impact Report is out!
Find it here!
About Merritt Community Capital Corporation
Merritt Community Capital Corporation is a mission-oriented affordable housing funder that serves the state of California. For more than 35 years, Merritt has been a trusted partner, investing more than $1.6 billion and creating over 12,000 affordable homes across California. Beyond investing in properties, Merritt invests in people. Through its Commitment to California initiative (C2C), Merritt proudly spearheads programs across the state that attract, train, and retain current and future affordable housers.
Merritt is also the west coast member of the National Association of State and Local Equity Funds (NASLEF), which empowers locally engaged, mission-driven housing and community investment partners to build thriving communities. By partnering with mission-aligned organizations and developers in the affordable housing space, Merritt ensures the most critical communities are developed and maintained for low-income residents.