$15.5 Million In Financing from CPC Will Help Finance Construction of Mixed-Use, Mixed-Income Housing Project in Brooklyn
CPC Fund Is Financed Through NY Green Bank Community Decarbonization Fund to Help Underserved Communities Participate in Green Energy Transition
Brooklyn, NY, March 14, 2024 – The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), a mission-driven non-profit multifamily housing finance company now in its 50th year, announced it has provided $15.5 million in construction financing to help fund a 188-unit, mixed-use, mixed-income development in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
This is the first project to receive financing using CPC’s recently launched $25 million revolving loan fund capitalized with funds received through the Community Decarbonization Fund (CDF) launched last year by NY Green Bank (NYGB), a New York State-sponsored investment fund and division of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). CPC will use this fund to invest in efficiency-focused multifamily decarbonization projects in disadvantaged communities across New York State.
“We are grateful to be able to play a role in addressing the housing problem by investing in the creation of urgently needed affordable and sustainable homes,” said Sadie McKeown, President, The Community Preservation Corporation. “Our collaboration with NY Green Bank on the Community Decarbonization Fund allows CPC to further its commitment to advance decarbonization and equitable development in underserved communities and underscores what we can accomplish together when we align our State’s financial resources with our shared environmental and social impact goals.”
When complete, the new construction project will be a 17-story elevator building containing 188 residential units and 5,100 square feet of retail space. The project is utilizing the City’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) program ensuring that 25% of the units will be affordable; with 20% of the affordable units restricted to 40% of area median income (AMI), and 5% of the units restricted to 130% AMI. The building will be fully electric with the exception of domestic hot water production which will use natural gas and be conversion-ready.
“NY Green Bank is pleased to partner with CPC, one of the leading housing lenders in the country, to support the creation of their revolving loan fund to provide financing that advances efficiency-first decarbonization projects in disadvantaged communities across New York State,” said NY Green Bank President Andrew Kessler. “This reflects the type of partnership we had hoped to achieve through our Community Decarbonization Fund – ensuring that CDFIs and other mission driven lenders are equipped to expand their current lending capacity to support the transition to cleaner and greener homes.”
NYGB’s $250 million fund was established to help Community Development Financial Institutions and specialty lenders finance projects and deliver capital into sustainable infrastructure projects that support climate equity for residents of disadvantaged communities. CPC’s new $25 million revolving loan fund will provide flexible, low-cost, and long-term financing for greenhouse gas emission-reducing investments in New York State, utilizing new sources of capital currently absent in funding designated for these types of investments.
CPC’s partnership with NYGB is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to investing in the green economy and lessening the impact of climate change through lending and investing in multifamily housing. To date, CPC has financed more than 11,970 energy-efficient units of affordable and workforce housing, and in the last fiscal year, the company invested more than $138 million in sustainable housing projects, financing approximately 770 high-performance units of affordable and workforce housing.
Additionally, CPC is administering New York State Housing and Community Renewal’s (HCR) $250 million Climate Friendly Homes Fund. Through the program, CPC and HCR aim to electrify at least 10,000 units of housing in small multifamily buildings that serve economically disadvantaged communities. The program provides up to $25,000 in grant funding per unit to cover the cost of retrofits including electrification of heating, cooling, and water heating systems and additional building envelope improvements.
CPC also joined Calvert Impact and Self-Help to announce the formation of Climate United, a coalition competing to manage an award from the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund, a component of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund established under the Inflation Reduction Act. The fund is being administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, which is seeking proposals from organizations with experience driving public/private partnerships to advance sustainable economic development and a demonstrated commitment to serving communities that are marginalized and overburdened by pollution. Climate United will catalyze investments across sectors, including distributed generation of renewable energy, building decarbonization, and transportation. CPC’s effort will be focused on decarbonizing affordable multifamily housing in partnership with first mortgage lenders.
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About The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC)
CPC is a nonprofit multifamily finance company that was founded in 1974 to provide financial resources to stabilize and revitalize underserved communities. Today, CPC uses its unique expertise in housing finance and public policy to expand access to affordable housing and drive down the costs of housing production, advance diversity and equity within the development industry, and address the effects of climate change in our communities through the financing of sustainable housing. Since its founding, CPC has invested over $14 billion to finance the creation and preservation of more than 225,000 units of housing and has approximately 4,200 affordable units under ownership. CPC is a carbon neutral company and has been rated AA- by S&P. Visit CPC at communityp.com, and on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn