New York, N.Y., April 9th, 2008 – The New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) closed on $73,900,000 in tax-exempt bonds for the moderate rehabilitation of 1,527 affordable apartments at Linden Plaza, a Mitchell-Lama development in Brooklyn. This project will benefit from favorable financing from HDC’s Low Income Affordable Marketplace Program (“LAMP”). To date, HDC has preserved 16,650 apartments through preservation activity, including Mitchell-Lama repair loans and grants.
The size of the loan, as well as the scale of the development, ranks this LAMP issuance as one of the Corporation’s largest. While many other large scale developments are becoming unaffordable for long-term tenants, the proposed financing structure for Linden Plaza will preserve it for the next years. Marc Jahr, President of the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), said, “HDC remains committed to preserving the New York City’s affordable housing stock. Linden Plaza is an excellent example of HDC’s preservation program.”
Linden Plaza was originally constructed in 1972 under New York State Mitchell-Lama program, utilizing a Section 236 HUD mortgage. The 1,527-unit complex consists of four-seventeen story buildings, one-eighteen story building, six townhouse complexes, an immense courtyard and plaza areas, and four parking garages. A large portion of the development is constructed over a NYCTA subway car repair yard. Linden Plaza also includes several small retail tenants.
A majority of Linden Plaza tenants will qualify for Enhanced or “sticky” vouchers. These vouchers will be granted by The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”) as a part of a special federal Department of Housing Urban Development (“HUD”) allocation, designated specifically for tenants of Linden Plaza. The vouchers will facilitate payments up to the newly-set Section 8 Market Rents. When voucher tenants vacate their units over time, the units will remain subject to rent and income restrictions.
The current fee owner of the Project is Linden Plaza Associates, L.P. The new owner will be Linden Plaza Preservation, L.P.
The New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) provides a variety of financing programs for the creation and preservation of multi-family affordable housing throughout the five boroughs of New York City. HDC is implementing Mayor Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing over ten years. The New Housing Marketplace Plan is the largest municipal affordable housing effort in the nation’s history. Our programs are designed to meet the wide-range of affordable housing needs of the City’s economically diverse population.
