Community Builders Procures $38M to Develop NY Apartments

By D.C. Stribling

The Community Builders Inc. has obtained $38.3 million in financing to assist in the development of Cottage Place Gardens Phase III. The project is a 70-unit, mixed-income residential property in Yonkers, N.Y.

The development is joint development between the Community Builders and the Municipal Housing Authority of the City of Yonkers. The project involves the replacement of Cottage Place Gardens housing project and a deteriorated townhouse at Warburton Ave.

KeyBank Community Development Lending & Investment provided a $26.4 million construction and equity bridge loan, plus $11.9 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity. New York State Housing Agency supplied the LIHTC equity. Kelly Frank and Victoria O’Brien of Key’s CDLI group arranged the financing.

The Yonkers Industrial Development Agency (YIDA) will provide a sales tax exemption on materials used in construction, a mortgage tax exemption on the transfer of land and a temporary property tax abatement.

Overall Goal

The 1940s-era Cottage Place Gardens consisted of 256 units of public housing that had become severely deteriorated. All the phases of the Cottage Place Gardens involve replacing the older units with modern family units.

Phase III will cost an estimated $36.67 million to construct, including remediation of the sites and disposal of asbestos found in the buildings to be demolished, according to YIDA. Asbestos is commonly found in buildings of this vintage; it was considered an insulating material but its health risks were still unknown.

All the new units of Phase III will be LEED accredited for environmental efficiency, and each will have its own entrance. On-site parking will be provided for each apartment, and 10 percent of the units will be set aside for persons with disabilities.