On Pace For Breakout Fiscal Year, CPC Launches New Brand With Eye To The Future

With 68 Loans Closed In First Half of FY16, More Than Entire Previous FY, CPC Is on Track to Eclipse 80 Loans and $420 Million by FY’s End

After More Than 40 Years Revitalizing Communities Across New York State, CPC Launches New Branding Suite – Pays Homage to Core Values With An Eye To Future Growth

New York, NY – The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) announced today that in just the first half of its Fiscal Year 2016 it has closed more loans than in the entire previous fiscal year. The 68 loans closed between July 2015 to present, represent more than $213 million and are made up of a diversity of loan sizes. This eclipses the entirety of a successful Fiscal Year 2015 which saw CPC close a total of 60 loans. It is also more loans than in FYs 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. This puts the company on pace to close more than 85 loans worth approximately $420 million by the end of the fiscal year in July, a remarkable turnaround for a company that went through a challenging restructuring a few short years ago.

CPC has launched a new branding suite that reflects its transformation from a company in the midst of a significant downturn to a fully capitalized, financially strong, mission-driven organization. The new look and feel will run through all of CPC’s platforms, from its online presence through its full complement of print material and collateral. More than simply a new look – the company will continue to add tools and products as well as making changes to back office technology that will streamline the customer experience for its borrowers and partners.

“Today is a day to celebrate, but also to reflect on the continued importance of CPC’s mission: the ever increasing need throughout our state for high quality, affordable housing and the opportunity to see growth and revitalization in communities long forgotten,” said Rafael E. Cestero, President and CEO of CPC. “Our renewed success has been driven by paying homage to our past and by getting back to our roots. We are putting an emphasis on investing in the places and projects where we can be the most effective in revitalizing underserved neighborhoods, and have focused on strengthening our relationships with our borrowers, government partners, and local stakeholders. Now is the time to talk about our future, to reintroduce a refreshed and vibrant CPC, and to recommit to our mission and our values as the foundation for the way forward.”

“From small rural towns and once grand downtown areas upstate, to urban communities suffering from blight and abandonment, CPC has been there for 42 years as a partner helping to solve their housing and revitalization challenges,” said Michael Hegarty, Chairman of the Board at CPC. “Like the communities we serve, CPC has grown and evolved over time. I am proud of our long history of making an impact on the lives of New Yorkers, and that we have always carried out our mission with a sense of accountability and integrity. Today we are building on lessons learned from the past and looking ahead to an even brighter future.”

The growing successes the current FY as well as FY 2015, demonstrates that the company’s renewed focus on investing in the places and projects where it can be the most effective in revitalizing underserved neighborhoods is paying dividends. As a company CPC has returned to its core business of addressing the acute gap in the market for flexible lending products for small multifamily buildings, is pursuing new opportunities to expand its tool box with new products and investment opportunities, and is collaborating across its base of government and private sector partners to accomplish its mission. CPC is also working to solve the challenges of financing sustainability measures in new construction and rehabilitation projects through an initiative focused on integrating energy efficiency and water conservation measures into the first mortgage underwriting process.

CPC’s revitalization presented a unique opportunity to reintroduce the company with a refreshed brand to let its partners and the communities they serve know that “we are back – stronger than ever.”

The significant separation between where CPC is today and where the company was a few short years ago has been driven by paying homage to its past and recommitting to its core values. It was that commitment to serving underserved communities, loyalty to borrowers, integrity and accountability, and attention to detail that built the foundation of more than four decades of work, and by extension the CPC brand.

The company unveiled its new branding at a celebration held on February 3rd at the Museum of the City of New York that was attended by approximately 425 of their partners, customers and colleagues in the banking, real estate, and affordable housing industries. The new look and feel, including the new CPC logo, values, mission statement and slogan will flow through the company’s new website and collateral material, as well as its Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages and physical office spaces.

The CPC logo: The circle symbolizes inclusiveness and continuity. CPC’s success wouldn’t be possible without our partners in government, private banking/lending, and our customers. CPC’s resurgence and future are a continuation of our mission to serve neighborhoods and the work we do with our partners to address the complex challenges of community revitalization. Its green color highlights our commitment to making sustainability achievable for buildings of all sizes, and to creating greener and healthier neighborhoods.

Our Values: At CPC, our values define who we are as an organization and guide the way we work with our partners, within our communities, and with each other:

  1. We have a deep commitment to our mission. We work hard to create the best outcomes for our customers and communities, and we have fun doing it.
  2. We respect, trust and empathize with others. We are supportive and responsive, and value different perspectives. While we are diverse in backgrounds and skills, we are united by our values  and our passion for bringing capital to underserved communities.
  3. We strive for excellence in everything we do, and aim to add measurable value to neighborhoods, customers and the industry. We go the extra mile to find the right solution and deliver on our commitments.
  4. We believe in accountability and operate with the highest standards of integrity and transparency. We communicate openly and honestly with our partners and each other.
  5. We embrace collaboration. The connections we foster with our colleagues, customers, government partners, and other like-minded organizations are crucial to improving housing quality and making a positive impact on the physical, social and economic infrastructure of communities.

CPC believes housing is central to transforming underserved neighborhoods into thriving, vibrant communities: This is our mission and our core belief. Our goal is to be more than just a lender. At CPC, we work as a partner to provide technical expertise, support and flexible solutions that help meet the capital needs and broader community revitalization goals of our customers, local stakeholders and the communities we serve.

Uncommon Expertise. Unmatched Impact: Our slogan captures the essence of the organization, our mission, our promise and our brand. CPC’s level of commitment and tenacity to get the most difficult loans closed is validated by the impact that we have with the people and communities that are forever changed because of these efforts.

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Established in 1974, the Community Preservation Corporation (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. We provide innovative capital solutions, fresh thinking and a collaborative approach to the often complex challenges that owners and developers of multifamily housing face. To date, CPC has leveraged approximately $9.1 billion in private and public investment to finance more than 164,600 units of affordable housing. Our work with our partners has helped revitalize countless neighborhoods throughout New York, and provided quality housing for families, senior citizens, and individuals with disabilities. Follow us at communityp.com, and on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.