75-Unit Trinity Apartments in the Bronx Will Be Rehabilitated Under Mayor’s New Housing Marketplace Plan’s Long-Term Goal of Protecting Affordable Housing Stock

New York, July 8, 2011 – The New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and Preservation Development Partners, a recently formed joint venture of developers Donald Capoccia, Joseph Ferrara, Brandon Baron, Francine Kellman and Brian Raddock, announced the acquisition and planned rehabilitation of Trinity Apartments, a 75-unit multifamily complex in the Bronx. The purchase is the development firm’s first real estate transaction. The acquisition signifies the developer’s commitment to preserve affordable housing stock and eliminate the risk of it being converted into market rate units.

The project was financed under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan (NHMP), an $8.4 billion initiative to finance 165,000 units of affordable housing for half a million New Yorkers by the close of the 2014 fiscal year. To date, the plan has funded the creation or preservation of more than 124,000 units of affordable housing across the five boroughs; of those more than 2,800 units are in Bronx Community Board 6 where the Trinity Apartments are located.

“The preservation of affordable housing is central to this administration’s overall goals of promoting sustainability and a more affordable city,” said HDC President Marc Jahr. “The quality of life in New York City is dependent on creating and preserving decent affordable housing. Over the years, we have spent billions to upgrade and redevelop neighborhoods across the City—with this commitment to the renovation and preservation of the Trinity Apartments, we are buttressing our past efforts in order to ensure that these homes remain affordable and livable for years to come.”

Francine Kellman, PDP principal, said, “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. This is an important ‘first’ for us and it’s a model we plan to repeat, providing a long-term benefit to the community.”

The acquisition of the five-story property, which is located at 2105 Daly Avenue in the Bronx Park South section of the borough, was financed by $9.9 million in New Issue Bond Program (NIBP) bonds issued by HDC. An additional $5.3 million was raised through Low Income Housing Tax Credit Equity via Wells Fargo, credit enhanced by Freddie Mac through its Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Mod Rehab program. The renovations will include new kitchens and bathrooms. Other significant upgrades include repaired or new roofs, boilers, compactors, flooring, and facades, plus a new state of the art security system.

Trinity Apartments has 23 one-bedroom units, 33 two-bedroom units, nine three-bedroom units, nine four-bedroom units, and one superintendent unit. The property is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development project and it includes a full service day care center for the surrounding community. The project serves households making 60 percent of the Area Median Income ($47,520 per year for a family of four) and benefits from a Project Based Section 8 Contract (HAP Contract) which has been renewed for 20 years, thus preserving its affordable rent, while limiting the vacancy risk. The project is near public transportation, parks and hospitals. It is also just two blocks away from the Bronx Zoo.

Brian Raddock, principal, said, “The Bronx has experienced growth in retail and construction in recent years. New shopping developments have helped to provide jobs and services to community residents. The purchase and rehabilitation of Trinity Apartments through the use of tax-exempt bonds and the benefit of new 20 year HAP Contract will ensure that these 75 affordable housing units remain quality affordable units.”

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NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC) provides a variety of financing programs for the creation and preservation of multi-family affordable housing throughout New York City. In partnership with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, HDC works to implement Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan to finance the creation or preservation of 165,000 affordable housing units by the end of the 2014 fiscal year. Since the plan launched in 2003, HDC financed more than 50,000 homes for low- , moderate- and middle-income New Yorkers. The New York City Housing Development Corporation is rated AA by S&P and Aa2 by Moody’s.

Preservation Development Partners is a partnership formed by K&R Preservation and BFC Partners. K&R is owned and operated by its principals, Ms. Kellman and Mr. Raddock. Prior to forming K&R, Ms. Kellman and Mr. Raddock closed on two affordable housing properties in the Bronx and Manhattan for a Seattle based developer. They oversaw the complicated rehabilitation and positive transformation of the Manhattan property, Lexington Courts, which, when acquired consisted of nine buildings in various states of deterioration.

BFC Partners is owned and operated by its three principals, Messrs. Capoccia, Ferrara and Baron. The essence of BFC’s activities over the past 25 years has been the acquisition, development, financing, construction, marketing and management of affordable housing, which includes government subsidized low and moderate-rental as well as for sale home ownership. BFC and its principals have concluded over $550 million in acquisition and development projects since the firm’s inception.  The construction contract amount for those projects exceeds $350 million and encompasses the construction of 4,000 units ranging from single family newly constructed units in Long Island to the substantial rehabilitation of multi-site, multiple dwellings with over 120 units, to smaller scattered site projects requiring the substantial rehabilitation of 6 to 17 unit buildings.

BFC will act as the exclusive general contractor for Trinity Apartments to give the principals total control over the construction.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan New York City’s affordable housing program to build or preserve 165,000 units of housing — enough to house half a million New Yorkers — is the most ambitious and productive in the nation—creating housing as well as jobs for New Yorkers. In order to fulfill the NHMP goal of 165,000 units, HPD and the NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC) are responding to market realities and focusing on three primary goals: strengthening neighborhoods, expanding the supply of affordable and sustainable housing and stabilizing families by keeping them in their homes. To read more about the NHMP, please visit.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/about/plan.shtml.

Contact:

Richard Edmonds [email protected]
Linden Alschuler & Kaplan, Inc.
212-575-4545

Christina Sanchez [email protected]
NYC Housing Development Corporation