Public-Private Partnership Receives $6M Loan for Affordable Community in Manhattan

by Jeff Shaw

NEW YORK CITY — The Community Preservation Corp. (CPC), Project FIND, the Joint Ownership Entity New York City (JOE NYC), and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) have received a $6 million Fannie Mae Multifamily Affordable Housing loan to finance the rehabilitation and preservation of The Hargrave House.

The 113-unit, affordable senior housing development is located at 111 West 71st St. in Manhattan. The financing will help pay for renovations and upgrades to the property. Because the project is being structured under HPD’s Voluntary Inclusionary Housing (VIH) program, the units will be preserved as permanently affordable.

“Senior citizens are one of our fastest growing populations, and are often living on fixed-incomes that aren’t keeping pace with the rising costs of living. This project ensures that the seniors at Hargrave House will continue to have housing that’s affordable, safe and provides the services they need to age in place gracefully,” says Brandie Moreno, mortgage officer at CPC.

Partners Project FIND and JOE NYC are sponsoring the project. Project Find is a nonprofit organization that provides low- and moderate-income seniors, including homeless, with services and support. JOE NYC is a joint ownership and asset management initiative for nonprofit community development corporations that own affordable housing assets in New York City.

The VIH program allows the Hargrave House project to sell development rights in exchange for permanently extending the current affordability agreement with HPD that restricts the units to senior citizens at or below 80 percent of area median income ($58,400 annual income for a single person). Project FIND has proposed to use the proceeds from the prospective sale of the density bonus to fund the long-term maintenance and operations of Hargrave House.

The scope of the renovation work will include elevator modernization, energy efficiency upgrades, façade work and lobby upgrades.

Hargrave House feaures 3,300 square feet of ground-floor retail. The property was constructed in 1913 as a neo-Renaissance style hotel and operated as a luxury hotel until the mid-1900s. In 1975, Project FIND developed the property under the Mitchell-Lama program, which required the units to be restricted to persons 62 years of age and older with incomes less than 80 percent of area median income.

In 2001, Project FIND received approximately $6 million from CPC and HPD to complete a $3.5 million renovation program consisting of accessibility improvements, intercoms, boiler replacement, roof repairs, interior upgrades, exterior lighting and other systems work.

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