COMMERCIAL
OBSERVER
Mortgage Beat
By Alessia Pirolo
125 East 130th Street.
An East Harlem building acquired with a $31.6 million loan consisting of tax-exempt-bonds issued by the City and credit enhanced by Freddie Mac will be kept affordable for the next 40 years, now that Preservation Development Partners has concluded its rehabilitation.
Preservation Development Partners is a joint venture of developers Donald Capoccia, Joseph Ferrara, Brandon Baron, Francine Kellman and Brian Raddock. It focuses on affordable housing properties and bought the 179-affordable-units at East River Apartments for $36 million. The building is located at 125 East 130th Street.
The acquisition of the building was financed with a $31.6 million loan consisting of tax-exempt-bonds issued by the New York City Housing Development Corp and credit enhanced by Freddie Mac through its Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Mod Rehabprogram. Wells Fargo was the servicer of the loan for Freddie Mac.
The apartment complex consists of five elevator-equipped buildings. The complex comprises 53 one-bedroom units, 47 two-bedroom units, 59 three-bedroom units, 17 four-bedroom units, two five-bedroom units and one superintendent unit. In the renovation windows, bathrooms, kitchens, floors and electric systems were updated.
East River Apartments benefits from a 20-year federal Project Based Section 8 Contract which will be renewed for an additional 20 years, ensuring the long-term affordability of its units for low income families.
“The Section 8 Contract will eliminate the risk of 179 affordable housing units in Manhattan from being converted to market rate units,” said Ms. Kellman. “With a limited supply of affordable housing in the New York area, and high demand for housing in general, this project will preserve affordable housing in East Harlem, and thus provide a long-term benefit to the community.”
Previously, Preservation Development Partners purchased the rental complex Surrey Carlton Apartments in upstate Spring Valley, N.Y. and Trinity Apartments, a 75-unit multifamily complex in the Bronx. It is currently negotiating the purchase of another affordable multifamily property in the West Side of Manhattan.