De Blasio Announces $135M for Apartment Renovation

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, several city agencies and private developers, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development closed a deal to finance the acquisition and renovation of five affordable housing properties with a combined total of 18 buildings containing a total of 549 apartments in Harlem.

The total development costs of the portfolio, including acquisition and rehabilitation, total nearly $135 million. The city's Housing Preservation and Development agency provided a $15.2 million loan and low-income housing tax credits resulting in $35.9 million in equity.

The New York City Housing Development Corp. provided tax-exempt bonds, which resulted in $62.3 million in construction financing from Bellwether Enterprise, which syndicated the tax credit equity to finance the deal.

To finance the loan, Bellwether Enterprise arranged a Fannie Mae credit enhancement for two series of bonds issued by HDC. Fannie Mae's reduced occupancy and rehabilitation program underwrote the property's credit enhancement.

The deal calls for the rehabilitation of all buildings, and means all apartments will remain affordable to low-income tenants for 40 years. In addition, all buildings have federal project-based Section 8 contracts, further preserving affordability through rental subsidies for the property owners.

The preservation is central to de Blasio's 10-year plan to finance the creation and preservation of 200,000 affordable units across the five boroughs.

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New York
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