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New York City Acquisition Fund Formed, Closes First Preservation Deal
Published: July 20, 2007
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By Maria Siakavellas, Correspondent
New York -- Nine prominent philanthropies and New York’s leading financial institutions have come together to form the New York City Acquisition Fund, a $230-million initiative that will build and preserve 30,000 units of affordable housing over the next 10 years. The Fund’s first deal included the acquisition and preservation of 283 occupied low- and moderate-income apartments in the northwest Bronx.
The Fordham Bedford Housing Corp., a not-for-profit developer of community-run affordable housing in the Bronx, purchased the portfolio from Sachson Realty Corp. and will renovate the six privately owned apartment buildings using loans totaling $23 million, or 10 percent of the New York City Acquisition Fund. Enterprise, a nonprofit provider of affordable housing and the managing general partner of the Fund, originated the loan.
“Solving New York’s affordable housing crisis demands creative solutions, including close cooperation between the public and private sectors,” says Doris Koo, CEO of Enterprise. “The Acquisition Fund, like our 2004 Billion Dollar Promise, is an unprecedented initiative that demonstrates the private sector’s willingness to invest in and leverage affordable housing.”
The Fund provides early stage capital for acquisition of privately owned land and buildings. A “guarantee pool” for securing loans was created through the investment of $8 million in city funding through the Battery Park City Authority revenues along with $32.6 million in foundation funding. The initial $12.5-million challenge grant, which helped lead the creation of the Fund, was made by The Starr Foundation while up to $190 million has been made available from major banks and financial institutions.
Along with Enterprise, National Equity Fund Inc. is a co-member and manager of the Fund, Forsyth Street Advisors is Fund Manager and JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. is administrative agent of the 16-bank syndicate that provides a revolving line of credit to fund loans.
