Wheeler of Community Preservation Corp. orchestrates $5.178 million financing for four Brooklyn properties

The Community Preservation Corp. (CPC) has a long history of partnering with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to preserve affordable housing throughout the borough's neighborhoods. Most recently, CPC's Brooklyn office partnered with HPD to provide permanent financing to a not-for-profit developer who had successfully renovated four apartment buildings located at 231 Fifth Ave., 257 Third Ave., 115 Columbia St. and 217 50th St. A $5.178 million mortgage, with roughly $1.3 million coming from CPC and $3.87 million from HPD, financed all four buildings, renovations to which include new electric, plumbing and heating systems, as well as new flooring, kitchens and bathrooms. The financing was orchestrated by Danny Wheeler of CPC. Robert Riggs, senior vice president and regional director of CPC's Brooklyn office, said, "This transaction demonstrates how, utilizing a mix of public and private financing, CPC preserves affordable housing in communities where market rents may have increased dramatically over recent years. In these neighborhoods, CPC's focus has shifted from preventing housing deterioration or abandonment to finding opportunities to lock in affordability for units being redeveloped with HPD subsidy. To accomplish this, we rely on the effective and flexible financing tools developed with HPD over the course of our decades-long strategic partnership." Three of the buildings were transferred to the borrower via HPD's Third Party Transfer Program and received construction financing from Washington Mutual and HPD. The fourth building, also a Third Party Transfer, received both construction and permanent financing from CPC and HPD. Together, the four buildings include 25 residential units: six studios, six one-bedroom units, 11 two-bedroom units, and two three-bedroom units. There is also a three-bedroom super's unit and five commercial spaces. Returning tenants occupy 13 of the 25 units, paying monthly rents ranging from $620 to $971. Twelve vacant units were rented to new tenants at monthly rents ranging from $685 to $1,260. Since its founding in 1974, CPC has invested more than $7.2 billion in more than 136,000 units of housing.