Baptist Terrace

Baptist Terrace Apartments, located at 414 E Pine Street, Orlando, FL, is a 197-unit affordable senior living building located in downtown Orlando, Florida. This 14-story high rise was originally built in 1969 under HUD’s 202 program.  In July 2020, Baptist Terrace was sold by First Baptist Housing, Inc. to Orlando Neighborhood Improvement Corporation (ONIC), a nonprofit developer.  As part of the acquisition, the apartments are now subsidized with federal rent subsidies.

Chesapeake Community Advisors, as development consultant, in conjunction with ONIC Senior Affordable Housing, an affiliate of ONIC secured complex financing to substantially rehabilitate Baptist Terrace, which had not undergone significant rehabilitation since the construction of the building in 1969. The cost of construction to preserve this much needed affordable housing was $13 million and included new kitchens, windows, flooring, bathrooms, as well as, updated common areas, elevators and HVAC systems. Furthermore, 10 accessible units were established and four were modified for the sensory-impaired.

In order to fund this redevelopment effort, the development team worked with Bank of America to obtain a $7.2 million construction loan in taxable bonds and $21.5 million construction loan in tax-exempt bonds from Orange County Housing Finance Authority.  Western Alliance purchased those tax-exempt bonds which will remain in place for the next 30 years.  Other sources of financing include 11.9 million in LIHTC equity from Red Stone Equity Partners, LLC. In order to maximize the capital improvements made, ONIC provided a $4 million loan to the project, deferred $4.5 million of developer fee, and contributed $1.1 million from the operations of the project.

Baptist Terrace offers a variety of services to its tenants including social and fitness programs, a food pantry, a medical equipment bank, health and wellness programs and congregate meal programs twice  weekly. The acquisition and rehabilitation of Baptist Terrace will continue to have a substantial impact in the community as it provides safe, decent and modernized housing to Orlando’s most vulnerable senior population while residents pay no more than 30% of their income in rent.