More Than 260 Affordable And Workforce Housing Projects totaling 8,400 units, Inclusive of 1,600 High-Efficiency Sustainable Units
Launched New Programs To Enfranchise BIPOC Developers, Aid Small Building Owners Impacted By COVID, Revitalize Upstate New York Communities
July 30, 2021 – The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) announced that it had deployed roughly $937 million in capital to support impactful housing and community development projects during a record-breaking 2021 fiscal year that ran from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. CPC’s work across its construction, permanent, and Agency lending and investing platforms financed 8,400 units, nearly 80 percent of which were affordable to households earning at or below 80 percent Area Media Income (AMI).
In addition to its work to finance the creation and preservation of multifamily housing in underserved areas, CPC also launched its ACCESS initiative to invest in BIPOC development entrepreneurs, partnered with New York State to administer COVID relief funding to small rental building owners, and through its Sustainability practice the company continued to move the industry towards sustainable construction and de-carbonization of the built environment.
“I am incredibly proud that we were able to leverage our mission-driven work and the capital we provide to create new economic opportunity at a time when communities were struggling to recover from the enormous toll of COVID-19,” said Rafael E. Cestero, President and CEO of CPC. “Each loan and investment tells a story of the outcomes of the housing that gets built, the small BIPOC developer that’s able to grow their business, and the tenants who have safe affordable housing. They reflect CPC’s deep commitment to our mission and the transformative impact that we’re able to have within communities and on peoples’ lives.”
CPC’s construction lending platform provided more than $464 million in loan funding to developers of both affordable and workforce housing across every region of New York State. In 26 counties, CPC provided flexible capital to advance housing projects to revitalize historic downtowns, to create and preserve affordable and supportive housing for our most vulnerable populations, and to invest in the small multifamily rental stock which is the backbone of New York communities from NYC to Buffalo.
Roughly 2,400 units, or approximately 80 percent of the total units financed through CPC’s construction lending are affordable to households earning at or below 80 percent AMI. This included 1,450 affordable units in New York City and 650 units in neighborhoods throughout Upstate. Additionally, more than half of the total projects financed through CPC’s construction lending were sustainable, energy efficient construction or retrofits, helping to reduce the carbon footprint of communities and leading to better outcomes for tenants and cost savings for owners.
The company’s Sustainability practice continued to drive the real estate industry and built environment towards carbon neutrality and sustainability, financing 1,600 sustainable, high-performance units across its FY21 lending portfolio, and hosted a three-day virtual Sustainability Summit with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to provided attendees from across the real estate industry with the tools to better understand the challenges and opportunities of sustainable development and portfolio management.
As an equity investor, CPC’s goal is to be a responsible, long-term steward of affordable and workforce housing that serves moderate- and low-income tenants. In November 2020, as an equity partner in a larger development team, CPC and its partners closed on the financing for the NYCHA Manhattan portfolio, beginning a roughly three-year process that will see 38 buildings and more than 1,710 apartments across 16 separate Public Housing properties go through a massive rehabilitation and revitalization plan. This mission-aligned project will preserve a critical piece of New York City’s affordable housing stock, and bring long-term stability to the nearly 3,000 people who call these developments home.
In response to the social justice movement and the disparate impact of COVID on communities of color, CPC created and launched its ACCESS initiative. ACCESS is a $20 million program providing financial resources, capacity building opportunities, and technical assistance to BIPOC entrepreneurs who have historically faced barriers to entry in the real estate development market, with the goal of promoting and enabling greater racial diversity within the industry. In under a year, the initiative has deployed nearly $4 million in flexible capital and technical assistance to black and brown developers in New York City, Rochester, Poughkeepsie, and Syracuse.
CPC through its ACCESS initiative, also partnered with New York State to launch the Legacy Cities program that will transfer portfolios of blighted, land bank-owned single-family properties to local developers with a preference for M/WBEs. Following rehabilitation, sales will prioritize purchasers of color and low-income household, helping to tackle the issue of generational wealth building through homeownership. CPC again partnering with the state, responded to the COVID-19 crisis by successfully implementing the NY Forward program, deploying $5.7 million across 123 loans to help small building owners make ends meet through pandemic-related rental income loss.
CPC’s national Agency lending subsidiary, CPC Mortgage Company, originated more than $425 million through their portfolio of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and HUD/FHA mortgage products to multifamily building owners in 17 states across the country. Through its focus on the unique financial needs of affordable housing and small buildings, CPC Mortgage Company was able to bring flexible, affordable Agency capital to new borrowers and communities in need, with more than 70 percent of the mortgages supporting housing that is affordable to tenants at or below 80 percent of area median income.
Fiscal Year 2021 Financing Highlights
111 Liberty Street, Pen Yann, NY
Helping Local Couple Finance Adaptive Reuse of a Historic Structure
$1.5 million in construction and permanent financing
CPC partnered with REI REI LLC, whose principals are Cindy and Vincent Rosato on the Liberty Street Lofts. Located at 111 Liberty Street, the project is an adaptive re-use and gut rehabilitation that will convert the three-story, former grape storage and processing building into eight rental apartments and multiple commercial spaces. Originally built in the 1800s as a “fruit house,” the building was used into the early 1900s to store grapes and fruit baskets for the Finger Lakes wine community. It later served as a grape pressing facility and produced gallons of wine for Garrett and Company, one of the largest wine producers in the country until Prohibition in 1920.
# #
East Harlem El Barrio Community Land Trust (CLT), New York, NY (Multiple Locations)
Partnering to Bring an Innovative Ownership Model to NYC Tenants
$5.2 million construction loan and a $5.8 million permanent loan
CPC joined partners including the East Harlem El Barrio CLT and Mutual Housing Association, The City of New York, Banana Kelly CIA, and others on the $13.2 million project to convert 4 city-owned buildings with a total of 36 rental units in East and Central Harlem into affordable housing. The East Harlem El Barrio CLT, the first of its kind in decades, will own the land and steer the project, ensuring the development will serve the Harlem community. After renovations, the CLT will enter a 99-year ground lease with the mutual housing association with the rents for current residents set for a typical family of three earning $36,000.
# #
Albany Clinton Portfolio, Albany, NY (Multiple Locations)
Rehabbing 9 Small Buildings to Revitalize an Albany Community
$2.7 million construction and permanent financing
CPC joined New York State and Albany Clinton Redevelopment LLC, whose principal is Patrick Chiou to finance the $5.3 million new affordable housing project in Albany to rehabilitate nine small buildings, consisting of 40 residential units, and two vacant lots in the vicinity of the historic Clinton Avenue corridor. The properties were acquired beginning in 2016 from the Albany County Land Bank and private sellers. Eight of the buildings have been vacant for several years. When complete, all the apartments will have rents at or below 80 percent of the area median income.
# #
Veddersburg Apartments, Amsterdam, NY
Affordable, Supportive Housing for Vulnerable NYers
CPC and Chase partnered to provide $11.2 million in construction financing
CPC partnered with nonprofit developer DePaul, New York State, and others to finance the Veddersburg Apartments, an affordable and supportive housing development in the city of Amsterdam, that upon completion will have 62 affordable homes, with 31 reserved for individuals with mental illness who will have access to supportive services onsite. Several vacant and blighted structures along East Main Street will be demolished to make way for the three-story, 62-unit building named for the original settler of that region, Albert Vedder.
# #
733 Portland Avenue, Rochester, NY
Supporting Local BIPOC Developers to Create Affordable Housing
$844,000 Bridge to Acquisition Loan
CPC partnered with local couple Patricia Cruz-Irving and Paul Irving, to finance the acquisition of 733 Portland Avenue, a 33-unit residential building in Rochester, NY. The financing was provided through CPC’s new ACCESS initiative, which provides funding and pre-development support to minority developers and real estate entrepreneurs and targets high-quality housing projects in communities of color. With the acquisition complete, Patricia Cruz-Irving and Paul Irving plan to extensively renovate the property and preserve it as a high quality, affordable housing development for individuals and families.
# #
368 Main Street, Poughkeepsie, NY
Supporting BIPOC Developers to Revitalize Downtown Poughkeepsie
$465,000 construction and permanent loan
CPC partnered with Hudson Valley couple Garfield and Shereen Salmon to help renovate the long-vacant property at 368 Main Street into a mixed-use building that will create five (5) new rental apartments and new ground-floor commercial space where the couple plan to operate a café and catering business. The financing was provided through CPC’s new ACCESS initiative, which provides funding and pre-development support to minority developers and real estate entrepreneurs. Originally from Jamaica, the Salmon’s are first-time developers who were turned down by several other local lending institutions. The Salmon’s are looking to make an impact through the redevelopment and revitalization of small properties in a traditionally underserved portion of downtown Poughkeepsie that has a growing Jamaican community.
# #
Barcalo Lofts, 225 Louisiana Street, Buffalo, NY
Revitalizing Downtown Buffalo with Transformation of Former Industrial Complex
$25 million construction loan and $19.25 permanent loan
CPC partnered with Barcalo Buffalo LLC to provide financing for the adaptive reuse of the former Barcalo Complex, located along six parcels on Louisiana Street in Downtown Buffalo. The project will create 118 loft-like residential units and 36,000 square feet of new commercial space, and will feature several energy efficient components. When complete, the new Barcalo Lofts will add to the resurgence and transition of Old First Ward District from an industrial area, to a vibrant live, work, play community. Originally constructed between 1896 and 1917 the Barcalo manufacturing complex produced diverse product lines, including metal furniture, mattresses, box springs, recliners, Ford car parts, and airplane plates.
# #
The View at Nob Hill, Elmsford, NY
Providing Stable, Flexible Financing to Preserve Large Multifamily Property
$77.6 million in Freddie Mac Conventional Financing
CPC Mortgage Company, a full-service mortgage lending subsidiary of CPC, provided refinancing for The View on Nob Hill, a 416-unit multifamily property located in Elmsford, New York. The property is owned by funds managed by the Real Estate Group of Ares Management Corporation. Built in 1993, The View on Nob Hill is a 416‐unit, garden‐style apartment complex consisting of 22, two-story apartment buildings. Twenty percent of the total units are rented as affordable housing and are income-restricted to moderate- and low-income tenants.
# #
Odessa & Cleburne Texas, and Hobbs & Roswell, New Mexico
Preserving Small Affordable Properties in Texas and New Mexico
$14.7 million in Fannie Mae Financing
CPC Mortgage Company, a full-service mortgage lending subsidiary of CPC, provided $14.7 million in Fannie Mae financing to refinance a portfolio of four affordable multifamily properties in Texas and New Mexico totaling 376 units affordable to tenants at or below 60 percent of area median income. CPC originally provided a bridge loan to Landmark TC Management for a Year 15 reposition, allowing them to buy out the limited partner investor on this portfolio, which was originally built under the 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.