$252.7 Million Approved for Affordable Housing in New York State

Funds will Finance Construction and Renovation of 1,583 Housing Units

NEW YORK, NY (06/15/2007)(readMedia)-- A total of $252.7 million in affordable housing financing, grants and mortgage insurance commitments was approved yesterday by the boards of the New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA), the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA), and the Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC). The funds will finance the construction and renovation of 1,583 housing units, including 1,239 units of affordable housing across the state.

Among the approvals were $19.16 million for the new construction and rehabilitation of 742 housing units by the Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC), which provides grants to nonprofit organizations to build and renovate housing.

“We’re very proud that the Affordable Housing Corporation is financing new and renovated housing throughout New York State, including seven projects in New York City, eight in the downstate suburbs and another eight in upstate counties,” said Priscilla Almodovar, President and CEO of HFA, SONYMA and AHC. “We are working to build partnerships with nonprofit housing groups all over New York and these approvals demonstrate the progress we are making.”

The board of the NYS Housing Finance Agency (HFA), which finances creation and preservation of affordable multifamily housing, approved several projects, including $176.4 million for a 394-unit residential rental property at 455 West 37th Street – the first project in New York City’s special Hudson Yards District to receive HFA approval.

The financing includes $136 million in tax-exempt bonds and $32 million in taxable bonds. As a condition of receiving the financing, the developer, Rockrose Development Corporation, will set aside 68 units for households with maximum incomes up to $31,900 per year, and 12 units for households with maximum incomes up to $25,500 per year.

In addition, the Mortgage Insurance Fund of the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) approved mortgage insurance for seven projects, including $2.75 million for Historical Warehouse Lofts at 210 Ellicott Street in Buffalo. The insurance was a key component in financing the $8 million project, which involves the acquisition and adaptive re-use of a vacant warehouse into a 30-unit loft apartment building that will include commercial space.

Additional projects approved yesterday are listed below by region:

New York City

More than $8 million in SONYMA mortgage insurance was approved for the new 69-unit Queens Courthouse Cooperative Apartments in Jamaica, Queens. The insurance is to cover a loan from the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

SONYMA mortgage insurance in the amount of $4.5 million was approved for the Fox Leggett Co-op Apartments, a new seven-story building containing 50 cooperative units in the Longwood section of the Bronx. The insurance is to cover a loan from HDC.

SONYMA mortgage insurance in the amount of $7.2 million was approved for the rehabilitation of Magnolia Plaza, 102 low-income rental units in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The insurance is to cover a loan from HDC.

The New York City Housing Partnership was approved for seven projects:

  • $1.087 million in AHC grants for construction of 10 three-family homes located on scattered sites in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn. Additional assistance is being provided by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).
  • $1.527 million in AHC grants for construction of 47 units in the South Jamaica section of Queens. Additional assistance is being provided by the Queens Borough President’s Office and HPD.
  • $1.6 million in AHC grants and more than $6.4 million in SONYMA mortgage insurance for 40 new cooperative units located in an 80-unit cooperative development in the Fort Green section of Brooklyn. Additional assistance is being provided by the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office, HPD and HDC.
  • $6.2 million in AHC grants and $10.8 million in SONYMA mortgage insurance for 161 new cooperative units at 1247 Grant Avenue in the Highbridge section of the Bronx. Additional assistance is being provided by the Bronx Borough President’s Office, HPD and HDC.
  • $725,000 in AHC grants for construction of 29 units in the Arverne section of Far Rockaway in Queens. Additional assistance is being provided by HPD.
  • $1.28 million in AHC grants for the acquisition and rehabilitation of 32 units in the East New York/Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Additional assistance is being provided by HPD.
  • $1.187 million in AHC grants and $3 million in SONYMA mortgage insurance for 34 new co-operative units on Gates Avenue in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Additional assistance is being provided by the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office, HPD and HDC.

Long Island

The Long Island Housing Partnership was approved for a $465,000 AHC grant for its Courtyards at Southampton project, which involves construction of 14 new affordable condominium units located in the Town of Southampton in Suffolk County. Additional assistance is being provided by Suffolk County.

The Nassau County Department of Housing and Intergovernmental Affairs was approved for a $500,000 AHC grant for seven new affordable two-family condominium units in the Village of New Cassel, Town of North Hempstead, Nassau County. The Long Island Housing Partnership is providing technical assistance and other assistance is being provided by Town of North Hempstead and Nassau County.

Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk was approved for a $425,000 AHC grant for 17 new affordable units located throughout Suffolk County. Additional assistance is being provided by Suffolk County and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.

The Community Development Corporation of Long Island was approved for a $390,000 AHC grant for the acquisition and rehabilitation of 12 units located in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Additional assistance is being provided by the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.

The Long Island Housing Partnership was approved for a $1.5 million AHC grant for the acquisition and rehabilitation of 75 units throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Additional assistance is being provided by Nassau County, Suffolk County and by NYS HELP Long Island funds from the Long Island Housing Partnership.

Hudson Valley

The Westchester County Department of Planning was approved for a $600,000 AHC grant to improve 60 units of housing located in the County. Thirty of the homes will be in areas that experienced severe flooding due to the recent heavy rains. Additional assistance is being provided by Westchester County, the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HFA approved $14 million in tax-exempt bond financing for The Related Companies to rehabilitate two affordable rental projects in the Village of West Haverstraw in Rockland County. The 100-unit West Haverstraw Senior Citizens Apartments is located on Route 9W and the 96-unit Warren Knolls Apartments is located on Warren Knolls Drive. All 196 units will be set aside for low-income senior citizen and disabled tenants. HFA’s financing facilitates the rehabilitation and long term affordability of the units. HFA requires that both projects remain affordable for 40 years after the renovations are complete.

The Housing Action Council was approved for a $160,000 AHC grant for four new single-family units at two sites in the City of Yonkers. Additional assistance is being provided by the City of Yonkers Affordable Housing Trust Fund and the City of Yonkers Housing Authority.

Northern New York State

The Frontier Housing Corporation was approved for a $175,000 AHC grant to rehabilitate 10 housing units of housing located in the Town of Brownville in Jefferson County. Additional assistance is being provided by the North Country Home Consortium, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Western New York State

The Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation was approved for a $300,000 AHC grant to rehabilitate 35 housing units in Chautauqua County. Additional assistance is being provided by DHCR, the Governor’s Office of Small Cities, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.

The Martin Luther King Block Club Association was approved for a $75,000 AHC grant to rehabilitate five housing units in the Martin Luther King Park area of Buffalo. Broadway Fillmore Neighborhood Housing Services will assist in program administration, and additional assistance is being provided by the City of Buffalo through funding it receives from DHCR.

The Citizens Alliance was approved for a $75,000 AHC grant for the improvement of seven units located in the Delavan Grider area of Buffalo. Fillmore-Leroy Area Residents will assist in program administration, and additional assistance is being provided by the City of Buffalo through funding it receives from DHCR.

The Niagara Community Action Program was approved for an $80,000 AHC grant to rehabilitate 16 housing units in Niagara County. Additional assistance is being provided by a consortium of twelve towns within Niagara County and by weatherization funds from DHCR.

The Genesee Valley Rural Preservation Council was approved for a $500,000 AHC grant to rehabilitate 40 housing units located in Genesee and Livingston Counties. Additional assistance is being provided by DHCR.

The South East Area Coalition was approved for a $300,000 AHC grant to improve 60 housing units located in southeast Rochester. Additional assistance is being provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the City of Rochester and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.

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HFA was created as a public benefit corporation in 1960, to finance low-income housing by raising funds through the issuance of housing revenue bonds and the making of mortgage loans to eligible borrowers.

SONYMA’s Mortgage Insurance Fund was created in 1978 to promote the preservation and revitalization of communities across the State of New York by providing insurance on single-family mortgage loans to promote homeownership, and on multifamily mortgage loans that encourage investment of capital by commercial and public lenders.

AHC is a subsidiary of HFA and was established in 1985 to promote homeownership by low- and moderate-income households, by providing financial assistance as approved annually by the New York State Legislature, in conjunction with other private and public investment, for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, and improvement of owner occupied housing.

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