New York, N.Y. – (RealEstateRama) — Officials from the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD), and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) joined The Arker Companies and project partners to celebrate the rehabilitation and preservation of Elbee Gardens, a 178-unit affordable housing development located at 1950 Clove Road in the Grasmere neighborhood of Staten Island.
“Preserving and improving our existing affordable housing stock is a key strategy in meeting New York’s housing needs” said Lynne Patton, HUD Regional Administrator for New York and New Jersey. “The extensive renovations at Elbee Gardens we celebrate today will keep this housing viable and keep the Grasmere community thriving for the next generation of New Yorkers.”
“We are at our strongest when we all come together in the interest of our most vulnerable neighbors. I want to thank our partners at Arker Companies, HUD, HDC, Freddie Mac, and Wells Fargo for their commitment to stabilizing housing for at risk households. Due to a collaborative effort, 178 households can rest assured that their homes will remain within their means for years to come,” said HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer.
“Preservation projects like this showcase the role of private-public partnerships in securing the affordable housing that anchors communities and serves some of our most vulnerable residents. In line with the Mayor’s preservation goals under Housing New York, we financed much-needed improvements and locked in long-term affordability for the 178 homes that make up Elbee Gardens,” said HDC President Eric Enderlin. “Congratulations to The Arker Companies, Wells Fargo, Freddie Mac, HPD, and HUD for all their efforts to preserve New York City’s valuable affordable housing resources for another generation.”
Staten Island Borough President James Oddo said, “Everyone wants a good, decent place to live. With the investments in this building, ‘home’ will be a better place for the residents of Elbee Gardens.”
Situated on nearly 8-acres of land, Elbee Gardens is a six-story elevator building that was initially financed as a HUD 236 project and constructed in the early 1970s. The project had not received any significant capital improvements since it was first rented up in 1973. The substantial renovation work included complete replacement of the building’s boilers, roof and elevators. The project also received extensive electrical, sewers, and façade work, along with renovations to apartment interiors, hallways and common spaces. All construction was completed within 12 months of closing on construction financing.
The apartments at Elbee Gardens serve low-income households, with all units benefiting from federal Section 8 vouchers which allow residents to pay no more than 30 percent of their monthly income towards rent. The building is currently 100% occupied. As vacancies arise, 36 of the units will be set aside for formerly homeless tenants. One unit is set aside for an on-site superintendent.
“The Arker Companies are pleased to celebrate the preservation of Elbee Gardens with our public and private partners as well as our residents,” said Allan Arker, Principal of The Arker Companies. “We’d like to thank HDC, HPD, HUD, Freddie Mac, Wells Fargo and our elected officials for all of their support.”
The total development cost for Elbee Gardens is approximately $38 million. HDC provided nearly $24 million in tax-exempt bonds towards construction financing. HPD also provided 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, resulting in approximately $14 million in tax credit equity. The financing incorporates a permanent day one structure with credit enhancement from Freddie Mac. Wells Fargo is the seller/servicer for Freddie Mac. Additionally, Wells Fargo is the tax credit investor and limited partner for the project.
“We are very proud of our long-standing and highly valued relationship with The Arker Companies,” said Rachel Grossman, Managing Director, Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital. “Wells Fargo’s vision and values align with their unwavering commitment to both the preservation and improvement of New York City’s affordable housing stock. The improvements made at Elbee Gardens are yet another shining example of what they are capable of accomplishing.”
“Freddie Mac is proud to provide $24 million in bond credit enhancement for Elbee Gardens, a great example of our commitment to preserve vitally important affordable housing,” said David D. Leopold, Vice President, Targeted Affordable Sales & Investments at Freddie Mac Multifamily. “We applaud the Arker Companies’ leadership and commitment to materially improve this property that hasn’t been renovated for over 40 years. Their work and our financing ensures all Elbee’s residents benefit from a safe, decent and affordable place to live.”
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About the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC)
HDC is the nation’s largest municipal Housing Finance Agency and is charged with helping to finance the creation or preservation of affordable housing under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York plan. Since 2003, HDC has financed more than 120,000 housing units using over $13.7 billion in bonds, and provided in excess of $1.6 billion in subsidy from corporate reserves. HDC ranks among the nation’s top issuers of mortgage revenue bonds for affordable multi-family housing on Thomson Reuter’s annual list of multi-family bond issuers. In each of the last four consecutive years, HDC’s annual bond issuance has surpassed $1 billion. For additional information, visit: http://www.nychdc.com.
About the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the nation’s largest municipal housing preservation and development agency. Its mission is to promote quality housing and diverse, thriving neighborhoods for New Yorkers through loan and development programs for new affordable housing, preservation of the affordability of the existing housing stock, enforcement of housing quality standards, and educational programs for tenants and building owners. HPD is tasked with fulfilling Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York: A Five-Borough Ten-Year Plan to create and preserve 200,000 affordable units for New Yorkers at the very lowest incomes to those in the middle class. For more information visit www.nyc.gov/hpd and for regular updates on HPD news and services, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @NYCHousing.
About the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
For over 50 years, HUD’s mission has been to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all Americans. In New York, HUD funding provides rental assistance for over 600,000 households, homeless services for more than 70,000 individuals statewide, single-family mortgage insurance for nearly 300,000 New Yorkers, homeownership counseling at more than 150 local community-based organizations, and more than $7 billion in disaster recovery funding to the State in the wake of Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. HUD also enforces the Fair Housing Act in partnership with 13 state and local agencies across New York. More information about HUD and its programs is available at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov. You can also connect with HUD on social media, follow Secretary Carson on Twitter or Facebook, and sign up for news alerts on HUD’s Email List.
About The Arker Companies
The Arker Companies has been building projects in New York City since 1949. Located in Roslyn on Long Island, the development company contracts, owns and manages multi-family and single-family housing, and retail and office projects. It is one of the leading developers of affordable housing in New York in its building of more than 7000 units, for rent and for sale. Arker Companies also develops market-rate, commercial and mixed-used projects. Company principals are Sol, Allan and Alex Arker and Daniel Moritz.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,500 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 271,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
