CPC’s Fannie Mae Affordable loan provides straight-to-perm financing that allows senior development to make needed repairs and maintain affordability
The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), Project FIND, the Joint Ownership Entity New York City (JOE NYC), and the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced the closing of a $6 million Fannie Mae Multifamily Affordable Housing (MAH) loan to finance the rehabilitation and preservation of The Hargrave House, a 113-unit, affordable senior housing development located at 111 West 71st Street in Manhattan. The financing will help pay for renovations and upgrades to the property, and because the project is being structured under HPD’s Voluntary Inclusionary Housing (VIH) program, the units will be preserved as permanently affordable. The CPC MAH loan provided an expedited closing process and a product that is tailored to the complexities of the preservation of regulated affordable housing.
“Senior citizens are one of our fastest growing populations, and are often living on fixed-incomes that aren’t keeping pace with the rising costs of living. This project ensures that the seniors at Hargrave House will continue to have housing that’s affordable, safe, and provides the services they need to age in place gracefully,” said Brandie Moreno, Mortgage Officer at The Community Preservation Corporation. “It was great to have a product like the Fannie Mae MAH that gave our borrowers the terms and process tailored to the unique requirements of subsidized, affordable housing projects. My thanks to HPD, Project FIND, and JOE NYC for their partnership and collaboration.”
“Since the start of Housing New York, this administration has made senior housing a key priority. Senior housing construction has increased to unprecedented levels, and through projects like Hargrave House, we are also safeguarding the quality and affordability of existing senior housing at record pace,” said HPD Commissioner Louise Carroll. “Thanks to the Inclusionary Housing program, not only will these seniors see significant improvements to their residences, these 113 homes will remain affordable in perpetuity. Congratulations to CPC, JOE NYC, Project FIND, and all our partners for their commitment to ensuring that the residents who invested in our neighborhoods have the housing and sense of community they need and deserve.”
“The VIH program will provide the basis to achieve many core organizational goals: permanent affordability, ample reserves to fund long term capital upgrades, and a future pool of resources to allow for deep rent skewing and new housing acquisitions. The team at CPC and HPD worked creatively and with diligence to structure a loan product and transaction that hit all of the right notes,” said David Gillcrist, Executive Director, Project FIND.
“CPC and HPD have long been strong supporters of JOE NYC. Hargrave House is a unique property which provides much-needed affordable housing to seniors on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. We commend Project FIND on completing this transaction and we look forward to working with David and his staff to ensure the long term affordability and quality of Hargrave,” said Peter Madden, Executive Director, JOE NYC.
The project is being sponsored by partners Project FIND and JOE NYC. Project Find is a nonprofit organization that provides low-, moderate-income, seniors, including homeless, with services and support. JOE NYC is a joint ownership and asset management initiative for non-profit community development corporations that own affordable housing assets in New York City.
The partnership has opted into HPD’s VIH program, which allows the Hargrave House project to sell development rights in exchange for permanently extending the current affordability agreement with HPD that restricts the units to senior citizens at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) ($58,400 annual income for a single person). Project FIND has proposed to use the proceeds from the prospective sale of the density bonus to fund the long-term maintenance and operations of Hargrave House and support the organization’s mission-based work.
CPC’s $6 million Fannie Mae MAH loan will finance Hargrave House’s rehabilitation work, allowing the project to meet the VIH program’s requirement that the partnership leverage private capital to fund the renovation work at the property. The scope of the renovation work will include elevator modernization, energy efficiency upgrades, façade work, and lobby upgrades.
As a nonprofit housing finance company, CPC brings decades of experience working with nonprofit and community-based organizations like Project FIND to help provide stable, private capital as well as unique technical expertise in navigating the often complex financing structures of affordable housing programs. CPC and Project FIND also recently partnered on the Woodstock Hotel project. Similar to the Hargrave House structure, CPC is providing private capital to finance repairs of the affordable senior housing development, with the project opting into HPD’s VIH program which will preserve the units as permanently affordable.
Hargrave House is a 13-story, affordable, age-restricted housing development with 113 units located above approximately 3,300 square feet of commercial space that houses a senior community center. Of the 113 units, 111 have been designated as permanently affordable Inclusionary Housing units; one is for the superintendent, and one is for the on-site social worker. The residents receive on-site social services, housekeeping, and access to a common laundry facility.
The property was constructed in 1913 as a neo-Renaissance style hotel and operated as a luxury hotel until the mid-1900s. In 1975, Project FIND developed the property under the Mitchell-Lama program which required the units to be restricted to persons 62 years of age and older with incomes less than 80 percent of AMI. In 2001, Project FIND received approximately $6 million from CPC and HPD to complete a $3.5 million renovation program consisting of accessibility improvements, intercoms, boiler replacement, roof repairs, interior upgrades, exterior lighting, and other systems work.
About The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC)
Established in 1974, CPC is a nonprofit affordable housing and community revitalization finance company that believes housing is central to transforming underserved neighborhoods into thriving and vibrant communities. The company provides a full suite of capital products through its construction lending and permanent lending, Agency lending, and equity investing platforms. Since inception, CPC has invested approximately $10.5 billion to finance more than 193,000 units of multifamily housing. CPC’s work with its partners has helped revitalize countless neighborhoods and provided quality housing for families, senior citizens, and individuals with disabilities. Visit CPC at communityp.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
About Project FIND
Project FIND’s mission is to provide low- and moderate-income and homeless seniors with the services and support they need to enrich their lives and live independently. Today Project FIND operates three supportive housing residences that are home to about 600 people and four senior centers with over 3,000 members. Our members and residents range from the healthy and active to the frail and homebound to the homeless. For all of these men and women, Project FIND is a critical resource, providing housing, meals, and programs that help individuals navigate the challenges of aging by encouraging community engagement and healthy living. Learn more at projectfind.org
About JOE NYC
JOE NYC is a nonprofit that acquires and asset manages affordable multifamily properties in collaboration with member non-profit Community Development Corporations (CDC). The mission of JOE is to secure the long term viability of non-profit run affordable housing and to make members more competitive in securing new affordable housing development opportunities. Learn more at joenyc.org
About the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD)
HPD is the nation’s largest municipal housing preservation and development agency. Its mission is to promote quality housing and diverse, thriving neighborhoods for New Yorkers through loan and development programs for new affordable housing, preservation of the affordability of the existing housing stock, enforcement of housing quality standards, and educational programs for tenants and building owners. HPD is tasked with fulfilling Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York Plan which was recently expanded and accelerated through Housing New York 2.0 to complete the initial goal of 200,000 homes two years ahead of schedule—by 2022, and achieve an additional 100,000 homes over the following four years, for a total of 300,000 homes by 2026. For full details visit www.nyc.gov/hpd and for regular updates on HPD news and services, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @NYCHousing.