Former Orange County Econo Lodge transformed into affordable housing

The award-winning Buena Esperanza development in Anaheim serves formerly homeless people, including veterans

When U.S. Marine veteran Ronnie Shepherd received a call from the Veterans Affairs administrative office asking if he was interested in moving into an available apartment, the answer was an easy yes.

“I can take one bus from here that runs all over L.A.,” said Shepherd, who has lived in the Buena Esperanza apartments in Anaheim, California, just south of Los Angeles, for the past three years. “It’s nice and quiet, and the personnel are compassionate.”

A Jamboree Housing affordable housing development, Buena Esperanza is a former Econo Lodge motel that was revitalized to include 69 studio units of permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals, with 20 reserved for veterans. The development also includes a social gathering place, kitchen and food pantry.

“We are grateful for the longstanding relationship we have with U.S. Bank,” said Jamboree President/CEO Laura Archuleta. “Buena Esperanza serves as a respite for our residents. We partner with U.S. Bank to support affordable housing and our veteran community."

For Buena Esperanza, U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance provided $13.5 million in construction debt and $9.79 million in tax equity.

The U.S. Bank subsidiary and Jamboree have a longstanding partnership, with the first deal closing in 2001. All told, Impact Finance has collaborated with Jamboree to provide about $281 million in debt and $106 million in equity to support its affordable housing projects across California.

Additionally, since 2017, U.S. Bank and the U.S. Bank Foundation have provided $700,000 in corporate contributions and foundation grants to Jamboree.

Impact Finance Business Development Officer Sebastian Glowacki said the affordable housing team went outside of its comfort zone for the Buena Esperanza project to stretch and demonstrate a committed relationship to Jamboree.

“The structure of the building, though dated, was in better condition than typical and had strong support from the City of Anaheim,” he said. “Buena Esperanza was a significant transformation of an underutilized, outdated motel into much-needed housing for the most vulnerable population, specifically those suffering from mental illness and homelessness, including veterans.

Impact Finance is a national leader in investing in and lending to new construction and renovation of affordable rental housing. Since its founding, it has provided $14.78 billion nationwide in affordable housing debt, including $6.8 billion in California, and provided $18.16 billion in affordable housing equity investments, including $4.56 billion in California.

Recently, Buena Esperanza was recognized as the 2024 Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award winner in the Housing for Veterans category by the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition.

For Shepherd, who enjoys car and motorcycle detailing, Buena Esperanza has been life-changing.

“Having an apartment means I can sit down, watch TV and play chess,” he said. “I try to live a happy-go-lucky life.”

He said he’s thankful for his connection to the military.

“You don’t know what you’re capable of doing and you can experience it in the military,” Shepherd said. “It was the best decision I’ve made in my life.”