Answering the Call
When government needs a trusted partner who can help conceptualize, create, and manage a program – whether in times of crisis or to meet a specific housing or community development need – CPC has been there to answer the call. Our decades of unique expertise in multifamily finance, program development, housing policy, and our capacity to stand-up and staff new programs in real-time allows us to meet the need as it arises.
Trusted Partner
Build It Back Multifamily
Following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in October of 2012, the City of New York designated CPC to administer a portion of its disaster recovery funding under the Build it Back Multifamily Program. The funding was used to make critical repairs to restore what was lost, as well as to implement resiliency features that better allowed the properties to withstand the fallout of future storms. CPC administered a total of $33 million in disaster recovery funding to 106 multifamily buildings across all five boroughs.
Small Project Affordable Rental Construction (SPARC)
Created by New York State and administered by CPC, SPARC was launched in 2015 to restore and create housing options and economic opportunity for low-to-moderate income New Yorkers in communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Irene, and Tropical Storm Lee. It targeted small rental projects with 8-20 units in low-density areas throughout the state that were not reached by other housing and recovery programs. SPARC was funded through the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery. CPC deployed $24.5 million of our own construction financing, as well as $16.6 million in SPARC funds to support the program’s five affordable housing projects.
New York Forward Loan Fund (NYFLF)
When COVID-19 hit our communities in early 2020, stable housing became a healthcare necessity. In the wake of the pandemic, as many New Yorkers lost their jobs and were unable to pay rent, small rental building owners struggled to pay mortgages, taxes, utilities, and maintenance – all critical to providing safe, clean, and healthy homes for residents who were required to shelter in place. These property owners were excluded from both rounds of the federal Paycheck Protection Program, and needed access to short term capital to maintain their properties and cover shortfalls in operating expenses.
New York State chose CPC to stand-up and administer financial relief through the small buildings program under the State’s New York Forward Loan Fund. During the height of the pandemic, CPC was able to provide technical assistance and approximately $5.7 million in funding over 123 loans to small rental buildings across New York. The program focused on small buildings with 50 units or less, and prioritized properties in low- and moderate-income census tracts or who served low- to moderate- income tenants. The maximum loan size was $100,000 with no minimum loan amount.
New York Hospital Surge
CPC partnered with Goldman Sachs to deploy the New York City’s COVID-19 Surge Staffing Loan Program, which filled a funding gap at New York City safety net hospitals experiencing a surge in staffing needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program supported New Yorkers across Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. CPC helped deploy $12 million in relief funding to 3 New York City hospitals.
Parkchester
Located in the southeast Bronx and built between 1939 and 1942 by MetLife as middle-income rental housing, Parkchester was the largest privately built planned community in America. In 1968, the previous owner converted the complex into two condominiums, Parkchester South with 8,286 units and Parkchester North with 3,985 units. When the borough fell on hard times in the 1970s, many of the condo units went unsold, retail tenants left, and the complex slid into extreme disrepair and financial distress. By 1995 the complex was in dire straits.
At the behest of community stakeholders, CPC joined two real estate partners to form a joint venture and acquire 6,360+ unsold units, the retail space, and parking garages. The $250 million revitalization of Parkchester’s 171 buildings, 12,271-residential units, and 500,000 square-feet of retail space was a ten- year undertaking that included: the installation of more than 65,000 new windows; new, high capacity wiring and copper piping in every apartment; a complete revitalization of the retail space, including a long-term commitment from anchor tenant Macy’s. Though CPC is no longer an equity partner at Parkchester, its revitalization as a haven of naturally affordable housing has served a catalyst for opportunity and stability within the neighborhood for decades.