No Bonds for Starrett Sale

The New York State Housing Finance Agency will not be issuing bonds to finance the sale of Starrett City, a large affordable housing complex in Brooklyn, the agency said last week.

The HFA had anticipated selling hundreds of millions of dollars of tax-exempt bonds to finance a transaction that would have ensured the 5,881-unit complex would stay affordable but the weak economy convinced the owners, Starrett City Associates, to pull the property off the market in February.

“We won’t be involved, going forward,” said HFA president and chief executive officer Priscilla Almodovar.

Instead, Gov. David Paterson last week signed legislation that allows the owners to refinance an HFA mortgage on the property through a conventional bank loan and that will keep the complex in the state’s Mitchell-Lama affordable housing program for an additional 30 years.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM BOND BUYER