981 Park Place is one of the Brooklyn properties part of Hudson Cos.' affordable housing preservation partnership with BEC New Communities. Credit: Hudson Cos.

NEW YORK CITY—The Hudson Cos. and partner BEC New Communities of Brooklyn have secured approximately $97.5 million in financing and tax credits for the second phase of an affordable housing preservation project in Bedford Stuyvesant and Crown Heights in Brooklyn.

The initiative named BEC Continuum Resyndication involves 550 rental housing units located in 13 commercial properties concentrated in Bedford Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. The rehabilitated units will be preserved as affordable housing for families earning 60% of area media income. The developers note that a portion of the units will be set aside for formerly homeless households. Construction is set to begin this summer and is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2019.

The second phase of work brings the total number of units in the portfolio to 762 across 56 properties, which represents one of the largest preservation projects by New York City's Housing Preservation and Development.

Hudson Cos. intends to implement a broad scope of improvements in the properties, from exterior work— the repointing of masonry, new windows, and new roofs—to the replacement of building systems, such as boilers and hot water heaters. Every unit in the portfolio will receive a new kitchen and bathroom; common areas will be upgraded; and new security systems, cameras and intercom/key fob systems will be installed. All of the improvements are designed to meet the Enterprise Green Communities standards for energy efficiency and environmental sensitivity.

The first phase completed in October 2015 consisted of 212 units across 13 buildings located primarily in Clinton Hill, Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant. The units, which are occupied, were preserved as affordable housing for at least the next 30 years. The total development cost for both phases is approximately $107 million.

“Preserving the affordability of our city's homes and neighborhoods is central to the Mayor's Housing New York plan,” states HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. “With the second phase of this project, HPD is financing much-needed improvements to ensure the quality and sustainability of more than 760 homes across 56 buildings in Brooklyn's thriving Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights neighborhoods.”

Details of the financing secured for the project include: New York City's Housing Development Corporation providing $46.5 million in tax-exempt bonds, enhanced by Citi Community Capital. NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development is providing $18.9 million in city capital, of which $11.2 million is being made available as a construction source. Richman Housing Resources is syndicating $31.6 million in LIHTC equity. Council Member Robert E. Cornegy, Jr. also allocated $500,000 in city discretionary capital funding to the project.

“The city's affordable housing crisis can't be solved through building alone, so acquiring and renovating existing affordable buildings is key—especially in neighborhoods where the market has picked up,” says Max Zarin, project manager at the New York City-based Hudson Cos.

Instant Insights /

Development Venture Lands Nearly $98M in Financing for Brooklyn Affordable Housing Project

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