NEW YORK CITY — The New York office of mortgage banking company Merchants Capital has arranged an $18.2 million Housing Development Corporation (HDC) Fannie Mae Risk Share loan for Mannie Wilson Towers, a historic affordable housing development located in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan.
Located in the former Sydenham Hospital, Mannie Wilson Towers provides 102 one- and two-bedroom units of restricted-income housing for seniors. As part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 202 program, units are restricted to residents 62 years of age and older who usually earn up to 50 percent of the area median income (AMI).
The original building debuted in 1892 as the Sydenham Hospital, a privately held hospital historically known as being the first medical facility in New York City to voluntarily hire black physicians. After private financial struggles, the hospital became part of the New York municipal hospital corporation in 1949.
Nearly 90 years after it first opened, the hospital was permanently closed by the city in 1980 and was later reclaimed for seniors housing through the HUD 202 Program.
The financing provided by Merchants Capital will allow the property owner, West Harlem Group Assistance Inc. (WHGA), to make capital improvements and system upgrades throughout the building.
The loan has a 30-year term and a 40-year amortization.