JV Plans $120M Buffalo Rehab
A community was purchased out of foreclosure and is set to be redeveloped.
BFC Partners, The NHP Foundation and St. John Fruit Belt CDC have purchased Towne Gardens, a 360-unit project-based Section 8 community in Buffalo, N.Y. The property was sold out of foreclosure from Fannie Mae for $21.7 million. The partners are planning a $120 million redevelopment at the 18-acre property.
BFC Partners will make $2 million in immediate repairs to the community, situated at 440 Clinton St. in East Buffalo. The Brooklyn, N.Y.,-based developer plans to start the larger rehabilitation project at the site next year.
BFC Partners anticipates that the rehabilitation work at Towne Gardens will be a catalyst for further investment in the community. The firm also acquired the adjacent Towne Gardens retail plaza last year for $1.35 million.
The St. John Fruit Belt CDC previously worked with BFC Partners as co-developers of the $57 million rehabilitation of the 15-acre McCarley Gardens, also in East Buffalo. In February 2022, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the rehabilitation project, which renovated existing townhome-style buildings and added four new buildings for a total of 149 affordable units.
More affordable projects
The Towne Gardens acquisition and rehabilitation project continues NHPF’s mission to provide stable, high-quality affordable housing. Through strategic partnerships, NHPF, a nonprofit real estate corporation founded in 1989, currently owns and manages 54 properties across 14 states and the District of Columbia.
In September, NHPF purchased Danville House, a 106-unit affordable senior housing community in Danville, Va., from HallKeen Management for $13.7 million. It was the nonprofit’s fourth project in Virginia and involved the assumption of an existing HUD/FHA 223(f) loan. NHPF plans to make comprehensive renovations at the two-building historic asset.
BFC Partners has also been active closer to its New York City home. Over the last three decades, BFC has developed or preserved upward of 11,000 units throughout New York City. In November, the company opened The Pearl, a $151 million, 270-unit affordable housing community in Staten Island, N.Y. It is the largest affordable housing property in the borough. Half of the units are set aside for formerly homeless seniors earning no more than 30 percent of the area median income.
In October, BFC Partners joined with L+M Development Partners and Taconic Investment Partners to open the second phase of Coney Island II, a 376-unit affordable community in Brooklyn.
