NEW YORK, NY – June 9, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) – The Board of Directors of the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) approved $55.5 in tax-exempt Multi-family Housing Revenue Bonds for two affordable housing projects; one new construction in Manhattan and the other a large-scale refinancing and renovation project in Queens. Approximately $13.25 million will be recycled bonds.
Tax-exempt bond proceeds worth $30.5 million will provide construction and permanent financing for The Balton, a 156-unit multi-family rental housing development to be constructed under HDC’s Mixed Income Program and located in Harlem at 311 West 127th Street. The project will also receive two additional loans, $9.15 million and $13 million from the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and benefit from tax credit equity generated by the sale of Federal low-income housing tax credits.
The Balton is one of three buildings proposed by Site 8 Development, a limited liability company, to be built on property bounded by West 127th Street, West 128th Street, St. Nicholas Avenue and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. When complete, the development will contain a total of 241 units: a 156-unit mixed-income rental project (The Balton), a 70-unit low income project (The Douglass), and a 15-unit condominium project (St. Nicholas Park Condominium). HDC is financing The Douglass but is not providing financing for the St. Nicholas Park Condominium.
The Balton will contain five studio units, 48 one-bedroom units, 77 two-bedroom units, 25 three-bedroom units and one Superintendent’s unit. Thirty-nine of the units will be reserved for tenants earning no more than 60% of Area Median Income (AMI), which is currently $46,080 for a family of four. The remaining one hundred and sixteen units will be affordable to middle-income households earning 130% of AMI, which is currently $99,840. This development is also expected to contain 8,161 square feet of commercial space and 113 parking spaces. The Balton is subject to a condominium structure and will contain two units, one unit financed with recycled tax-exempt bonds and one unit financed with new volume cap bonds.
The remaining $25 million tax-exempt bond proceeds will fund the refinancing and rehabilitation of a 100% low-income multi-family project consisting of five buildings containing a total of 364 units located in Far Rockaway, Queens initially financed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The bond financing will acquire and rehabilitate the site to improve living conditions for the existing low-income residents and agree to an extended period of affordability for the existing residents.
Gateways Apartments involves the moderate renovation of five buildings containing a total of 364 fully occupied rental units. The five buildings are located at 1409 Gateway Boulevard (24 units); 1430 Gateway Boulevard (59 units); 1450 Gateway Boulevard (152 units); 1502 Mott Avenue (91 units) and 1213 Nielsen Street (37 units). The buildings were built in the 1930s and 1960s and renovated in 1982. In 2004, the project went through a Mark to Market process with HUD which led to a reduction in the project rents and restructured debt for the development.
Since their last renovation more than 25 years ago, the buildings are in need of moderate renovation work. Each unit will get new bathroom fixtures, kitchen appliances, cabinets, countertops, plumbing fixtures, painting throughout, resurfacing floors and replacing lighting fixtures. Common area improvements will include the replacement of entry doors, intercom and fire alarm upgrades, elevator modernization, boiler replacement or upgrades, community room renovations, laundry room upgrades, lobby and hallway renovations, new trash compactors, roof and other exterior faзade and grounds repairs and refurbishing.
About HDC
The New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) provides a variety of financing programs for the creation and preservation of multi-family housing that meets the wide range of affordable housing needs of the City’s economically diverse population. It is the nation’s number one issuer of affordable housing bonds. In 2008, HDC issued more than $1.3 billion worth of bonds in the calendar year, including approximately $500 million in tax-exempt housing revenue bonds, enabling HDC to finance the construction and/or preservation of 7,371 apartments. HDC, along with HPD, is implementing Mayor Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing for 500,000 New Yorkers. The New Housing Marketplace Plan is the largest municipal affordable housing effort in the nation’s history. For more information visit www.nychdc.com
Contacts:
Christina Sanchez (HDC), (212)-227-2644, csanchez (at) nychdc (dot) com
