SP Investment Fund LLC executive Gil Seton has been involved with efforts to preserve affordable housing stock in a number of states located across the United States. Many of these renovations involve renovating affordable housing communities with amenities usually found in market-rate or luxury buildings.As the benefits of amenities in all types of housing (including low-income and affordable housing) become clear, more developers are incorporating communal areas into multi-unit building plans. Many cities with federally designated opportunity zones also encourage builders to include spaces that contribute to a higher quality of life, including shared green areas, fitness centers, and child care centers.Open spaces and community areas encourage neighbors to interact and contribute to a strong sense of community. Gyms and fitness centers also make it easier for residents to stay active and healthy. Developers are also experimenting with buildings that house community-based organizations on site. These organizations may conduct vital programming such as job training, as well as healthy living initiatives that promote sustainable practices like urban gardening.
SP Investment Fund LLC's manager, Gil Seton Jr., oversees the firm’s investments in affordable housing. Gil Seton Jr. has supervised SP and its affiliates' investments in over 100 properties involving over 10,000 units of affordable housing all over the United States. SP Investment Fund LLC has recently taken on the project of renovating two affordable housing communities for seniors and disabled individuals that are located in Saratoga Springs and Ilion, both of which are in New York. The affordable housing communities are named the Raymond Watkin Apartments and the John Guy Prindle Apartments. The Raymond Watkin Apartments and the John Guy Prindle Apartments were each constructed in 1979 as sister projects and cover an area of 2.31 acres, and 2.44 acres, respectively. Each of the properties is housed in single building containing 111 one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments along with one two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit. SP Investment Fund LLC has handled the acquisition, renovation and financing of both apartment buildings, with a total hard cost renovation budget of $3.8 million for the Raymond Watkin Apartments, and over $3 million for the John Guy Prindle Apartments. The rehabilitation of both apartment buildings includes full replacement of kitchen cabinetry, countertops, sinks, flooring, doors, toilets, and paint. The common area of the property will be refurbished as well as will the exterior of the properties. Both properties will also receive carports and Raymond Watkin will receive solar rooftop and carport panels that will provide almost of the power that the community’s owner has paid for in the past. During the renovation, residents will still continue to live in their units. Hunt Mortgage Group arranged for $20.9 million of loans in order to acquire and rehabilitate the two properties.
