The Golden State Acquisition Fund (GSAF) is a $93 million flexible, low-cost financing program aimed at supporting the creation and preservation of affordable housing throughout the State of California. Financing is available for rental housing and homeownership opportunities in urban and rural communities.

GSAF was established with $23 million in seed funding from the California Department of Housing and Community Development. These funds are leveraged with additional capital from the seven community development financial institutions that serve as originating lenders.

  • Nonprofit developers
  • For-profit developers
  • Cities, counties, and other public agencies within California
  • Joint ventures comprised of such entities, with a track record of developing affordable housing
  • Uses: Acquisition of vacant land or existing properties for rental or homeownership development
  • Geography: Must be located in the State of California
  • Rental Housing: 100% of units restricted to 60% or below AMI (or meet mixed-income rules below)
  • Homeownership: Restricted to households at or below 80% AMI
  • Mixed-Use: Minimum 75% of total square footage will be developed as affordable housing to receive full loan; if less than 75%, project loan amount will be adjusted
  • Mixed-Income: Minimum 75% of residential units developed as affordable housing to receive full loan; if less than 75%, project loan amount will be adjusted
  • Maximum loan amount: $13,950,000
  • Maximum loan term: Five years
  • Pricing will be fixed or variable, depending on market conditions, and will be determined by the originating lender.

Download the GSAF Fund Overview and Term Sheet for more details or contact an
originating lender to discuss a project.

Golden State Acquisition Fund

The mission of Golden State Acquisition Fund (GSAF) is to preserve and expand quality affordable housing for Californians by providing a flexible source of capital for the development and preservation of affordable housing properties. Developers can access acquisition financing for rental housing and homeownership opportunities at favorable terms for urban and rural projects statewide. Nonprofit and for-profit developers, cities, counties and other public agencies within California are all eligible for GSAF financing. [Watch GSAF “Decade of Success” video.]

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) seeded GSAF with $23 million from its Affordable Housing Innovation Fund, which serve as 25% top-loss for GSAF loans. These funds are leveraged with additional capital from a consortium of seven community development financial institutions, which are originating lenders for the fund: Century Housing Corporation, Community Vision, Corporation for Supportive Housing, Enterprise Community Loan Fund, Housing Trust Silicon Valley, Low Income Investment Fund (the fund’s Administrative Agent), Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and the Rural Community Assistance Corporation. Funds provided by HCD are from Proposition 1C, the Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act passed by California voters.

To date, the CDFI partners in the fund have deployed $105 million for the creation and preservation of affordable and senior housing throughout the State of California, just over a year after launching the program. The GSAF loans have supported 18 projects across the state and created or preserved more than 1,490 housing units. GSAF is structured as a $93 million revolving pool of capital in which repaid loans are reinvested into new projects, making GSAF an outstanding example of efficient leveraging of public dollars.

To find out how the fund can support your project, please contact one of the GSAF originating lenders.