NYS Affordable Housing Corporation Approves $300,000 to Help Western New York Seniors Renovate Homes
NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2007 — The board of the New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA) yesterday approved $15.5 million in financing for major capital improvements at the West Village Apartments, a 235-unit Mitchell Lama project in the City of Ithaca, N.Y.
In exchange for the financing, the new owner of the project, Ithaca-West Village LP, agrees to keep the development in the regulated Mitchell Lama program. More than 90% of the units will be set aside for tenants with incomes at or below 60% of the Area Median Income for Ithaca, or $39,240 for a family of four.
The Ithaca project is among 13 approved by HFA and the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) that will provide a total of $510 million in financing and grants for affordable housing. The actions will help build and renovate 1,182 affordable housing units across New York State.
“Our financing of the West Village Apartments highlights HFA’s commitment to help upgrade the state’s Mitchell Lama projects and preserve affordable housing throughout New York,” said Priscilla Almodovar, President and Chief Executive Officer of HFA.
Also yesterday, the AHC board approved a $300,000 grant to the Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation, a Rochester-based not-for-profit, to repair 56 homes of low-income senior citizens located in 13 counties in Western New York, including Tompkins County.
With these actions, the agencies have now approved financing to create and preserve 4,739 units of affordable housing in New York State since January 1, 2007.
West Village Apartments
West Village Apartments is a multifamily rental development located at 2-96 Abbott Lane and 600-702 Chestnut Street in the southwest corner of Ithaca. It consists of a mid-rise apartment building and 17 garden-style apartment buildings.
The renovation will upgrade the project’s physical plant, including building components nearing the end of their useful life. The improvements consist of mechanical and façade repairs, replacing or repairing existing boilers, plumbing upgrades, roof repair, new windows and apartment entry doors, new kitchen cabinets and appliances and bathroom upgrades. Tenants will not be displaced during the renovation.
The current owner, Ithaca Elm-Maple House, Inc., plans to sell the project to Ithaca-West Village LP, which is controlled by Omni New York, LLC, which was formed by Maurice “Mo” Vaughn, the former New York Mets slugger, and Eugene Schneur to develop and revitalize New York neighborhoods.
The total cost of the renovation is $20.8 million. HFA is providing a $10.5 million mortgage and a $5 million subsidy loan. In addition, Ithaca-West Village LP will continue to receive an annual Section 236 Interest Rate Payment (IRP) of $312,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; an annual allocation of $579,777 in Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits; and a local real estate tax abatement. Also, all tenants are expected to be eligible for enhanced Section 236 vouchers to help pay the cost of their rent.
West Village Apartments was built in 1972 using HUD’s Section 236 IRP financing. Under this program, affordable rental units were developed with low-interest mortgage loans and property tax exemptions in exchange for limits on developer profit and tenant income limits.
Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation
AHC approved a grant of $300,000 to the Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation to repair 56 homes of low-income senior citizens in 13 counties: Tompkins, Monroe, Allegany, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, Cayuga, Livingston, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates.
The grant will help fund a $750,000 program to renovate homes that are substandard, unsanitary, deteriorated or have aged housing stock. The program also helps seniors with emergency repairs to correct faulty heating and electrical systems, replace roofs, doors, windows, plumbing fixtures and deficient water and septic systems.
Applicants are chosen on a first-come, first-served basis with an emphasis on emergency repairs that eliminate health and safety hazards. Awards will be made to households with incomes no more than 112% of the AMI for each county; the income limits range from $45,584 to $58,576 for a family of four.
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The NYS Housing Finance Agency was created in 1960 to finance the construction and rehabilitation of multi-family affordable rental housing in New York State.
AHC, a subsidiary of HFA, was established in 1985 to promote homeownership by low- and moderate-income households. Financial assistance approved annually by the New York State Legislature, combined with other private and public investment, is used for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation and improvement of owner-occupied housing.
Contact: Philip Lentz
Director of Communications
212-688-4000 ext. 679
plentz (at) nyhomes (dot) org
