News Alert: June 30
$75M Rehab Deal for 447 Units in Harlem
A partnership headed by L+M Development Partners has raised $75 million to rehab 447 affordable units in the Bradhurst section of Harlem, according to Crain's New York. The fourteen properties wre originaly renovated under Mayor Koch's affordable housing plan.
The financing includes low-income housing tax credits, bonds and subsidies from HPD, HDC and NYS HCR. Goldman Sachs' Urban Investment Group also invested in the deal.
Click here for the full article.
News Alert: June 29
HPD and Providence House Break Ground on $12.7M Residence for Formerly Homeless
D'Addario Residence in Bedford-Stuyvesant is being developed through a partnership between HPD, Providence House, the Alembic Development Company and the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President. The $12.7 million project will offer 46 units, 28 of which will be set aside for formerly homeless people and families with special needs. All of the units will be affordable to tenants earning at or below 60% of area median income.
Click here for the full press release.
News Alert: June 27
New Markets Tax Credit Electronic Applications Now Available
Electronic applications for the 2011 round of the New Markets Tax Credit allocation have been released. The deadline for applications is July 27, 2011 and will only be accepted through the myCDFIFund system.
Click here for further details.
News Alert: June 23
House Housing Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Section 8
The National Council of State Housing Agencies' blog reports that the House Insurance, Housing, and Community Opportunity Subcommittee held a hearing on the Section 8 Savings Act (SESA). While including many of the provision of the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act draft, it also includes changes such as:
For more information, click here.
News Alert: June 20
Enterprise Community Partners Heads Preservation of More Than 1,400 Affordable Units in the Bronx
Two financing deals have pumped $32.9 million into 47 buildings in the Bronx that will help preserve more than 1,400 affordable housing units.
In the West Farms section of the Bronx, Enterprise has brokered more than $20.7 million in tax credits to community development groups. This deal, which also involved JPMorgan Chase, affects 526 units. A second deal in the Melrose and Mott Haven neighborhoods entails the provision of $12.2 million in financing by Enterprise through the New York City Acquisition Fund. This deal will help Lemle & Wolff to acquire and stabilize almost 40 buildings consisting of almost 950 units.
Click here for more details from Crain's New York.
News Alert: June 17
New Online Service Streamlines Affordable Housing Code Compliance
Landlords of residential buildings can now affirm code violation corrections online thanks to a new service developed by the City. The system was built by the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications in partnership with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).
This service satisfies Local Law 29, passed by the City Council in 2007, which requires HPD to accept electronic certifications of correction of housing code violations.
Click here for the full press release.
News Alert: June 17
HUD Releases Guidance on Applying Davis-Bacon to NSP-Funded Activities
HUD has released guidance on Davis-Bacon and its application to NSP activities. The Davis-Bacon Act requires the payment of no less than the wages that prevail in the locality to all construction laborers and mechanics employed on the covered project. Federal labor standards provisions (collectively, Davis-Bacon) apply to NSP activities related to construction and redevelopment work that are financed in whole or in part with NSP funds.
Click here for the full guidance document.
News Alert: June 16
State Senate Passes Bill Allowing State Agencies to Issue Private Placement Bonds
The New York State Senate has passed bill S.5396 which amends the powers of HFA and HDC to allow for the issuance of private placement bonds. Loans financed with proceeds of unrated HFA and HDC bonds issued for private placement would offer cost efficiencies to their borrowers by eliminating the need for either credit enhancement or a credit rating, thus eliminating some of the costliest elements of a public bond placement.
Without the involvement of rating agencies, outside underwriters, credit enhancers and their respective legal counsels, private placement transactions can be completed at a substantially lower cost to the borrower. These savings should be especially beneficial to smaller 100% affordable projects, for which the cost of issuance of a public offering are often prohibitively expensive. The bill still needs to pass the Assembly and be signed by the Governor, but there were promising signs that this bill could become law this year.
News Alert: June 13
City Partners with Harlem RBI, Yankee Slugger Texeira and Jonathan Rose Companies on East Harlem Housing/School Complex
An $85 million affordable housing and school project in East Harlem was announced yesterday. The 13-story building will provide 90 affordable rental units and a school for 450 students. The project represents a partnership between various city agencies, Harlem RBI and the Jonathan Rose Companies.
Funding for construction of the school is being made possible in part by a $32.5 million grant from the New York City Department of Education’s Charter Facilities Matching Grant Program. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Housing Development Corporation will contribute nearly $30 million toward the residential portion, which is expected to close in 2012. Harlem RBI will raise $20 million in individual, corporate and foundation donations. Mark Teixeira has contributed $1 million. The development and construction of the building will be led jointly by Jonathan Rose Companies and Civic Builders.
The project is expected to create up to 400 construction jobs, and 100 new permanent full and part-time jobs. As part of the project, Harlem RBI also hopes to renovate Blake Hobbs Park, a 25,000-square-foot park between 103rd Street and 104th Street. Once constructed, New York City will take ownership of the school building while DREAM Charter will maintain and operate the school. The New York City Housing Authority will also have an option to purchase the housing units for $1 after a 15-year lending period expires.
Click here for the full press release.
News Alert: June 9
HDC Approves Bond Issuances to Help Fund for Over 8,000 Units
The New York City Housing Development Corporation approved over $460 million in tax-exempt Multi-Family Housing Revenue Bonds, which will help to fund more than 20 housing projects creating or preserving 8,170 affordable units. Over half of the units will be located in Manhattan.
For the full press release, click here.
News Alert: June 6
Harvard Group Releases Annual Report on U.S. Housing Market
Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies has released its annual State of the Nation’s Housing report. It summarizes and analyzes recent trends and emerging issues in the nation’s rental and homeownership housing markets, and discusses what might be expected in the coming year. The full report can be found here.
Some findings include:
• The number of renters with very low incomes (below 50% of area median) jumped from 16.3 million to 18.0 million.
• The number of housing units that were affordable to very low income households in adequate condition and not occupied by higher income renters, fell from 12.0 million to 11.6 million.
• The affordable housing shortage for the very low income group widened sharply from 4.3 million to 6.4 million units.
• By 2009, nearly 12 percent of the low-cost rentals that existed in 1999 had been lost—twice the share lost among units renting for $400-799, and four times the share lost among units renting for $800 or more.
News Alert: June 6
NYS Homes and Community Renewal Partners with Conifer Development on 131-Unit Building in Rochester
Erie Harbor Apartments in Rochester is being built to offer 131 units of affordable and market-rate apartments. The project utilizes multiple HCR programs including over $2 million in LIHTC equity, almost $15 million in long-term Tax Exempt Bonds and a $2.7 million second mortgage.
The project is a partnership between HCR, the City of Rochester and Conifer Development.
Click here for the full press release.
News Alert: June 2
Hearing on Recent HOME Program Expose Set for Friday at 9:30am
The House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on Friday morning at 9:30 in response to the recent Washington Post series on the alleged mismanagement of HUD's HOME Program.
Witnesses will include Mercedes M. Mãrquez, Assistant Secretary, Community Planning and Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development and James A. Heist, Assistant Inspector General for Audit, Office of Audit, Department of Housing and Urban Development. The hearing can viewed by going to the House Financial Services Committee's website.
The NYHC website posted a News Alert on May 19 covering the Washington Post article and HUD's rebuttal to the report's criticisms.
As a prelude to the hearing, the National Council of State Housing Agencies has organized a letter sign-on campaign that has attracted over 40 supporters. As the NCSHA reports on their website: "The letter tells the story of HOME left out by the Post. It points out that the Post article, “A Trail of Stalled or Abandoned HUD Projects,” distorts HOME’s record by focusing on a very small percentage of HOME developments. It explains that a number of the developments identified by the Post as delayed are not in fact delayed, that administrators of the HOME program must comply with federal regulations, and that the economic recession and housing market crisis had a negative impact on all development, including HOME.
The letter highlights the many uses of HOME, including assisting the homeless, renters, and homeowners; serving people with special needs; and assisting in disaster recovery efforts. The letter also touts HOME’s success in producing 381,883 rental units, assisting 428,373 homebuyers, rehabilitating 197,780 owner-occupied units, and helping 242,768 tenants—creating 1 million housing units since 1992."
The New York Housing Conference supports the NCSHA position and encourages people to download the letter and write in a similar fashion to their Representative.
News Alert: June 2
The New York Housing Conference Announces Its Policy Priorities for the FY2011-12
The New York Housing Conference (NYHC) continues to promote the affordable housing industry as an engine of employment and a force for stabilization, championing affordable housing as important a priority for the viability and growth to a city or a town as a road or bridge.
With these objectives in mind, we have developed the following NYHC policy priorities for our 2011-12 fiscal year agenda, to educate our constituency and advocate before Congress, the New York State and City Legislature, the administration and executive departments as a vital part of the solutions for a new landscape. The full list of Policy Priorities can be viewed on our website.
News Alert: June 1
Treasury Department Opens Latest Competitive Round for New Markets Tax Credits
The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund released the Notice of Allocation Availability for $3.5 billion in New Markets Tax Credits.
The New Markets Tax Credit spurs investment of private sector capital into distressed communities by providing a tax credit to corporate or individual taxpayers who make qualified equity investments in designated Community Development Entities (CDEs). The CDEs in turn, invest the capital raised into projects and businesses in low-income communities. The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the investment in a CDE and is claimed over a seven-year credit allowance period.
For more information on deadlines and application materials, click here.
News Alert: June 1
HUD Releases Income Limits for 2011
NOVOCO.com reports that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has released its income limits for 2011. Information about the limits can be accessed here.
Please note that following the initial publication of FY 2011 income limits for areas nationwide, the agency said it identified an inconsistency in the values for the New York metro area, which includes Bronx County, Kings County, New York County, Putnam County, Queens County and Richmond County. HUD said it has updated all information contained on its web site to reflect the correct values.