NYS HFA Approves $12.5M in Financing to Renovate 186 Affordable Apartments in Onondaga County

NEW YORK, NY (05/13/2010)(readMedia)-- The board of the New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA) today approved more than $12.5 million in financing to undertake major renovations of Bayshore Apartments, a 186-unit affordable rental complex in Onondaga County.

"The financing approved today will improve the housing stock for the residents of Onondaga County and ensure that renovated units will be set aside for seniors and tenants with disabilities," said Brian E. Lawlor, HFA President and CEO. "Our actions further Governor David A. Paterson's mission of improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers."

Bayshore Apartments consists of 15 two-story rental apartment buildings on Chalkstone Course in the Hamlet of Brewerton in the Town of Cicero, 15 miles north of Syracuse. It was built in 1979 and financed through the Rural Development 515 Mortgage program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

HFA will provide a construction loan through the sale of up to $9.5 million in tax-exempt bonds, plus a subsidy loan up to $3 million. The financing will enable the borrower, Baldwin Bayshore LLC, to acquire the project and undertake moderate rehabilitation with the tenants remaining in place. The renovations include new appliances, renovated kitchens and bathrooms, upgraded windows and roofs, and energy efficient lighting.

All of the units will be reserved for tenants with household incomes up to $38,220 for a household of four. In addition, 24 one-bedroom units will be reserved for seniors and people with disabilities.

Baldwin Bayshore's managing members are ISLA Housing and Development Corp., a not-for-profit housing organization based in Rochester, and Baldwin Real Estate Development Corp., which is part of The DiMarco Group, a well-known housing developer and builder. JPMorgan Chase Bank is expected to provide a letter of credit during the construction and lease-up period.

The total cost of the project is $16.8 million. In addition to HFA financing, the project is expected to receive a $5.78 million permanent mortgage from the USDA Rural Development Section 515 Program; a $2.27 million second mortgage from the USDA Rural Development Multifamily Housing Preservation and Revitalization Demonstration Program; an annual allocation of $501,676 in Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits; a $1.5 million loan from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York; and USDA rental assistance.

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The NYS Housing Finance Agency was created in 1960 to sell bonds to finance the construction and rehabilitation of multifamily affordable rental housing in New York State.

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