Urban Innovations (UI) announces the acquisition and preservation of Shalom Tower, a 150-unit Section 8 subsidized apartment building for low-income seniors. UI acquired the building on December 13, 2006 from an agency affiliated with The Jewish Community Federation of Louisville (the Federation), a not-for-profit organization which had owned and operated the building since it was developed in the early 1980s.

Located at 3650 Dutchmans Lane in Louisville, UI plans to retain the “Shalom Tower” name. The Federation will continue to office on Shalom Tower’s second floor and will continue to provide services to the senior residents. The building is the 20th affordable senior building acquired by UI and brings their portfolio to 2,374 total units, all of which are reserved for low-income seniors.

Consistent with its mission, UI will maintain the building’s affordability while renovating the individual units and overall building systems and structure. The renovations will be completed without displacing any of the building’s current residents and should be completed by the end of 2007 if not sooner.

“Shalom Tower represents a tremendous addition to our senior housing portfolio,” said Mark Kelly, Urban Innovations’ CEO. “This building needs significant work and we look forward to upgrading the apartments and overall building to improve the facility for the senior residents. As with the rest of our senior buildings, this will be a building which the residents will be proud to call home.”

The acquisition represents the culmination of more than two years of discussions between UI and the Federation. As the original sponsor and developer of the building, the Federation was committed to ensuring that the building continue to serve the community’s low-income elderly. In order to confirm UI’s commitment to preserving and improving the building, Federation volunteer and professional leaders met with UI’s principals and senior managers numerous times and also traveled to Chicago to inspect other affordable senior buildings owned by UI.

“I have tremendous respect and admiration for the entire Louisville Jewish Federation, especially Bob Sachs, Federation’s immediate past President and Alan Engel, Federation’s Executive Director” said Steve Greenbaum, a UI Principal who first approached Mr. Engel in late 2004 and was involved in the transaction from start to finish. “From our initial discussion, Federation leaders were committed to the well being of Shalom Tower’s senior residents. They certainly did their homework on our organization, always keeping the residents’ best interests in mind, especially when visiting our Chicago-area properties to confirm the results of similar rehab efforts. We are thrilled with the faith they have placed in UI and we are confident that Shalom Tower’s residents – as well as the Federation community at large – will be thrilled with the results of this transaction.”

To complete the acquisition, UI utilized tax-exempt Multifamily Mortgage Revenue Bonds issued by the Kentucky Housing Corporation as well as funds from the sale of low-income housing tax credits. The tax credits were syndicated by Red Capital Group of Columbus, Ohio. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was also involved in the transaction, approving UI as the new owner.

UI was founded in 1978 specializing in the acquisition and re-development of commercial lofts in the River North area of downtown Chicago. UI currently owns and manages 10 commercial loft buildings in River North. Since 2001, UI has committed to preserving high quality affordable housing for low-income elderly.

For more information about Shalom Tower or other UI properties contact Urban Innovations at 445 N. Wells Street, Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60610, 312-222-0777, www.urbaninnovations.com.