Jersey City Apartments Win Financing, Will Remain Affordable

Jersey City

Jersey City, N.J.—Summit Plaza Apartments in Jersey City, N.J., has obtained $95 million in financing that will enable the property to remain affordable. Rockport Mortgage Corp. facilitated the loan, which is with a 2.95 percent fixed interest rate and 35-year term.

The transaction, completed under FHA’s Section 223(f) Insured Loan Program, provides more than $15 million in funding for capital and energy upgrades. It also secures the long-term affordability of Summit Plaza through a 20-year extension of its project-based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment Contract.

FHA’s Section 223(f) Insured Loan Program provides non-recourse, fully amortizing, assumable financing for up to 35 years for the purchase or refinance of market-rate or affordable multifamily developments. In fiscal year 2015, the HUD insured mortgages for 500 projects under the program with 70,142 units, totaling $4.5 billion.

The Jersey City property includes a mix of units, from studios to four-bedroom apartments. At Summit Plaza, 289 of the 291 total units at the property receive Section 8 assistance, meaning that 99 percent of the renter households pay no more than 30 percent of their adjusted income for rent.

Rockport worked in close collaboration with the owner, the Boston, New York and New Jersey HUD offices, and the New Jersey Housing Finance Agency to complete the recapitalization. Under HUD’s new transformation initiative, the Mark-Up-To-Market post-rehab Section 8 rent increase, Section 8 contract extension, and FHA 223(f) loan approval were secured in fewer than 50 days.