Press Release

San Francisco—An unusual groundbreaking ceremony took place last week, marking a new social project in downtown San Diego. This week, Pillsbury real estate lawyers closed an approximately $68 million deal in connection with a 12-story multiuse complex in downtown San Diego, to be used partly as transitional housing for the homeless and partly for low-income tenants.

Located on prime real estate, this project — called 15th & Commercial — not only closed amidst the recession; it also had 13 different lenders, which is unusual for a project that provides transitional housing with deeply skewed rents and a child care facility. The project consists of 140 units, 65 of which are available to low income tenants and 75 of which are transitional housing units available to special need tenants (i.e., homeless and disabled individuals). Each transitional unit will provide two beds, so the transitional units will provide a total of 150 beds. In addition, a child care facility will be built on site.

Pillsbury represents 15th & Commercial, L.P., which is the owner of this project and a joint venture partnership between St. Vincent de Paul Village and Chelsea Investment Corporation, a real estate company focused on the financing and development of affordable housing. St. Vincent de Paul Village is run by Father Joe, who is a prominent figure of the San Diego community and a moving force behind this deal. Although initially asked to represent Chelsea Investment Corporation, Pillsbury was asked to represent the owner of the project.

The deal was financed through 13 different sources, amounting to approximately $68 million. Pillsbury succeeded in solving difficulties involved in addressing and coordinating all 13 lenders, which included the US Bank, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the San Diego Housing Commission, the California Department of Housing and Community Development and others.

Pillsbury real estate partner Gary Downs and associate Irene Kuei led this deal with significant tax help from Dana Newman.

About Pillsbury
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is a full-service law firm with market-leading strengths in the energy, financial services, real estate, technology and increasingly health care and education sectors. With a presence in the world's major financial and technology centers, Pillsbury counsels clients on all aspects of global business and litigation. We work in multidisciplinary teams that allow us to anticipate trends and bring a 360-degree perspective to complex business and legal issues—helping clients to take greater advantage of new opportunities and better mitigate risk. This collaborative work style helps produce the results our clients seek.