Clark County, Nevada – which includes Las Vegas – is home to more than 2.2 million people.
It is estimated that 6,000 residents are without a home at any given time.
When the coronavirus pandemic began, action was needed to help area homeless people reduce their odds of infection. Transitional housing was required to serve the diverse population of at-risk residents, including elders aged 65 and older.
Into this challenging situation stepped Marcelino Casal. Casal is a director with Care Well Properties, which operates transitional housing facilities across Nevada. Each facility caters to the needs of a different at-risk population. Casal knew it was time to expand the portfolio to help Clark County elders in need.
The question was how he could obtain the funding.
The Americana Assisted Living Answered the Community’s Call During the Coronavirus Pandemic
The facility now known as The Americana Assisted Living sits in the heart of Las Vegas.
The Americana was initially conceived as a more general transitional housing offering but Casal wanted to step up to help the most vulnerable population due to the pandemic. Casal had a clear vision for adjusting the plan to help the community endure the unprecedented difficulty.
“There’s a homelessness problem in every city,” he says. “There’s always a need for transitional housing, but there has to be programming that goes along with it.”
With its central location and spacious interiors, the Americana facility could provide safety at a crucial moment. However, to make it happen, Casal needed an affordable funding vehicle to facilitate a large purchase.
“We have other transitional housing facilities that we operate in the north and also in the south,” he explains. “But they’re not of this size and they don’t have the same licenses because they’re operated as independent living, to allow individuals to come and go.” By contrast, Americana stood to be their biggest acquisition yet.
In his search for the right solution, Casal connected with Chris Hunter from TMC Financing.
With SBA 504 Financing and TMC Financing, The Americana Met its Goals
Casal had some experience with federal loan programs. However, he was concerned the SBA 504 loan process might not meet his funding needs on the tight timeline demanded by the pandemic. He was laser-focused on ensuring residents would not be turned away, and could meet their needs.
Working with Hunter, Casal was able to buy The Americana property to secure its housing programs. It is now set to continue helping seniors for the long term, and residents won’t have to worry about finding another place to stay – thanks to the SBA 504 Program.
The SBA 504 loan program offers down payments as low as 10 percent.
Through the program, business owners can buy commercial real estate with below-market fixed interest rates. Purchases are fully amortized over 25 years and have no balloon payment. Proceeds can also be used to construct new buildings, upgrade existing ones, purchase equipment, or convert facilities to energy-efficient technology.
“Being able to reduce the down payment requirement from about 30 percent from a regular commercial loan allows business operators to leverage more funds to operate the business,” Marce says. “Because of the size of the purchase, it made a lot of sense to utilize the SBA 504 Program so we can reduce our down payment and preserve working capital. ”
“Chris is great,” Casal recalls. “He’s very well-versed and he understands the nuances of the 504 Program. He navigated us through the entire process and communicated everything along the way. The process is lengthy and it can be laborious, but it’s worth it.”
The Americana now offers some of the best facilities in Clark County, providing a home for residents who may not have had one in years. It offers personal care, medical services, and assistance with Activities of Daily Living to improve quality of life and enhance safety as the pandemic continues.
Would Marce use TMC Financing and the SBA 504 loan program again?
“I would love to take advantage of the program again,” he says. And when it comes to his recommendation to others, his enthusiasm is unreserved. “If there’s an opportunity for a small business owner to utilize this lending vehicle, they should. It works to your advantage.”
