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HDC Press Releases
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July
13, 2010
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Goldman Sachs Partners with New York City Agencies To Finance Community Development in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn
The 105-Unit “The Bradford” -- To Be Constructed by BRP Development -- Is the City’s First Affordable Housing Project Financed With New Market Tax Credits
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NEW YORK, July 13, 2010
-- The NYC Housing
Development Corporation
(HDC), the NYC Housing
Preservation and
Development (HPD), The
Goldman Sachs Group,
Inc. and BRP Development
announced an innovative
$45 million real estate
transaction to develop
much-needed affordable
housing and retail space
in Bedford-Stuyvesant,
Brooklyn. To be built
under Mayor Michael R.
Bloomberg’s New Housing
Marketplace Plan (NHMP),
the new mixed-use,
mixed-income project,
called “The Bradford,”
will include 105
apartments for low- and
middle-income families.
Creating and preserving
affordable housing is
the central goal of the
Mayor Michael R.
Bloomberg’s New Housing
Marketplace Plan (NHMP),
an ambitious $8.4
billion initiative to
finance 165,000 units of
affordable housing for
half a million New
Yorkers by 2014. To
date, the plan has
financed the creation or
preservation of nearly
108,600 units of
affordable housing
across the five
boroughs.
Goldman Sachs worked
closely with the NYC
Housing Development
Corporation (HDC), the
largest housing bond
issuer in the country,
and the NYC Department
of Housing Preservation
and Development (HPD),
the largest municipal
developer of affordable
housing in the country,
to develop an innovative
structure which for the
first time allowed HDC
financing to be used in
conjunction with New
Markets Tax Credits (NMTC).
The Goldman Sachs
investment, which closed
in June, coupled with
the HDC and HPD
financing, enabled the
project to move forward
despite the difficult
real estate financing
environment and
diminishing government
resources. Goldman
Sachs, HDC and HPD look
forward to using this
structure to secure
additional funding for
future community
development
transactions.
Goldman Sachs is the
sole private investor in
The Bradford. Through
its Urban Investment
Group, the firm has made
a number of investments
in mixed-income
community development
projects in
neighborhoods across New
York City and others
parts of the United
States to help transform
distressed or
underserved communities.
“The development of The
Bradford demonstrates
the firm’s commitment to
invest in affordable
housing to help improve
the lives of more
families,” said Lloyd C.
Blankfein, Chairman and
CEO of The Goldman Sachs
Group, Inc. “Through
partnerships with public
agencies and local
organizations to
revitalize communities,
we can generate positive
and sustainable social
as well as economic
returns.”
Of the 105 rental units,
21 will be reserved for
families earning no
greater than 30% of the
Area Median Income
(AMI), currently $23,760
for a family of four. In
addition, 32 of the
units will have rents
set at 125% AMI
(currently $99,000 for a
family of four) and 51
set at 130% AMI
($102,960 for a family
of four) and these units
may be rented to
households earning up to
160%
AMI ($126,720 for a
family of four). The
ground floor retail
space contains
approximately
9,700-square-feet for
small businesses,
providing both job and
expanded retail
opportunities.
“The development of The
Bradford has been a
collaborative effort,”
said HDC President Marc
Jahr, “and when
complete, it will serve
an important and lasting
role in this historic
community. The families
who will call this home
will have strong, deep
roots here. We at HDC
are proud of the role we
have played in financing
this important project.
In this challenging
economy our ability to
raise capital that
leverages private sector
investment is more
important than ever. The
fact that we can do this
with ease in this market
speaks to the power of
the resources we can
bring to bear, the
strength inherent in
this City and our
vibrant communities and
the commitment of
financial institutions
like Goldman Sachs to
the City’s future.”
HDC issued $20.7 million
in recycled tax exempt
bonds for the
construction financing
and provided $6.8
million in subsidy from
its corporate reserves.
HPD provided $4.38
million in City Capital
funds, $1.9 in HOME
funds and $1 million in
HTF funds. Goldman
Sachs, in addition to
fulfilling the role as
equity backer for the
bond issuance, has also
provided $6.5 million in
NMTC equity.
"The Bradford will bring
new life and strength to
the heart of Bedford
Stuyvesant by providing
new mixed-income
affordable housing for
families" said
Commissioner Rafael E.
Cestero. “Since Mayor
Bloomberg launched his
New Housing Marketplace
Plan, and entrusted us
to carry it out, HPD and
HDC have made possible
the preservation or
creation of more than
108,000 affordable units
citywide—with more than
2,600 of them in this
community alone.”
The not-for-profit and
development partners are
the Bedford-Stuyvesant
Restoration Corporation
(BSRC), the nation’s
oldest community
development corporation,
and BRP Development
Corporation, a
minority-owned
development firm of
multi-family housing
throughout New York City
and Philadelphia.
Construction is
scheduled to be
completed in the summer
of 2012.
“BRP is very proud to be
developing The Bradford
as it serves as a model
for affordable,
sustainable and
transit-oriented
development in emerging
urban markets. This
project was conceived
over five years ago and
would not have become a
reality without the
support of local
community groups, city
agencies, community
development entities and
Goldman Sachs. In
addition to the much
needed economic
stimulus, we are
particularly excited
about The Bradford’s
cutting-edge green
elements including an
on-site co-generation
plant and other
sustainable features
that put the project on
track for LEED Silver
certification,” said
Meredith Marshall,
Managing Director of BRP
Development Corporation.
BRP Development has
completed, or is
currently developing,
approximately $150
million in 9 mixed-use
properties in New York
City and Philadelphia.
This is BRP’s second
project with HDC. The
first project, The
Garvey, was financed
through the LAMP program
and closed in June 2009.
Property Management and
marketing oversight will
be provided by the
developer’s management
arm, BRP Management
Group, LLC. The
Management Group
currently manages 145
rental and condominium
units and approximately
30,000 square feet of
commercial space in
Brooklyn, Harlem and
Philadelphia.
“The Bradford represents
a significant milestone
in BSRC’s initiative to
re-envision and
revitalize Fulton
Street, the major
commercial corridor in
Bedford-Stuyvesant,”
said Colvin W. Grannum,
President of BSRC. “The
project will transform
one of the most blighted
sections of Fulton
Street by creating a
significant amount of
mixed income, affordable
housing and attractive,
flexible commercial
space.”
The New Markets Tax
Credits allocation was
provided by Waveland
Community Development (WCD)
and Carver Federal
Savings Bank, two
organizations with a
long history of
investing in underserved
communities that have
received new markets tax
credits in the past.
“Waveland Community
Development is pleased
to have been given the
opportunity to allocate
new market tax credits
to assist in the
financing of The
Bradford in
Bedford-Stuyvesant,
Brooklyn, New York,”
said Rick Hayes, of WCD.
“This is one of the most
deserving projects we
have become involved
with since the inception
of the New Market Tax
Credit program. The
financing was
particularly
complicated, and Goldman
Sachs’ ability to create
a very low cost of
capital for the borrower
made the project
economically viable.”
“The Bradford is a
real-life example of
catalytic community
development through
partnership. Carver had
the pleasure of working
with BRP Development,
Bedford-Stuyvesant
Restoration Corporation
and Goldman Sachs and
others, all trusted
community partners that
came together with one
goal. Through patient
capital and financing
expertise from Goldman
Sachs, Carver continues
its more than 60-year
mission of working with
community partners to
meet the financing needs
of the underserved in
the Bedford-Stuyvesant
community," said Deborah
Wright, chairman and CEO
of Carver Federal
Savings Bank.
The Bradford is part of
a broader strategic
partnership between
Goldman Sachs and BRP to
invest in mixed-income
community development
projects in
neighborhoods across New
York City. Other
developments with BRP,
HDC and HPD include
Garvey Apartments, a
78-unit low-income
rental development on
the same block as The
Bradford, which will be
completed next summer,
and The Douglass, a
38-unit condominium
project in Harlem, which
is currently 80 percent
sold and includes
apartments for
low-income families.
Additional projects in
the pipeline include
developments in Central
Brooklyn, the South
Bronx and Upper
Manhattan.
About Mayor Michael R.
Bloomberg’s New Housing
Marketplace Plan
New York City’s
affordable housing
program to build or
preserve 165,000 units
of housing — enough to
house half a million New
Yorkers — is the most
ambitious and productive
in the nation—creating
housing as well as jobs
for New Yorkers. In
April, 2010 the City
reached the critical
benchmark of 100,000
units
financed—representing an
investment of $4.5
billion to date by the
City, not including
roughly $5 billion in
bonds issued by HDC.
Led by HPD Commissioner
Rafael E. Cestero, the
Plan has been recast to
maintain production
momentum while
confronting head-on the
economic challenges
facing the City, the
State, the housing
industry, the financial
sector and individual
New Yorkers and their
families. In order to
fulfill the NHMP goal of
165,000 units, HPD and
the NYC Housing
Development Corporation
(HDC) are responding to
market realities and
focusing on three
primary goals:
strengthening
neighborhoods, expanding
the supply of affordable
and sustainable housing
and stabilizing families
by keeping them in their
homes. To read more
about the NHMP, please
visit
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/about/plan.html.
About the NYC Department
of Housing Preservation
and Development (HPD)
HPD is the nation’s
largest municipal
housing preservation and
development agency. Its
mission is to promote
quality housing and
viable neighborhoods for
New Yorkers through
education, outreach,
loan and development
programs and enforcement
of housing quality
standards. It is
responsible for
implementing Mayor
Bloomberg’s New Housing
Marketplace Plan to
finance the construction
or preservation or
165,000 units of
affordable housing by
2014. Since the plan’s
inception, more than
108,000 affordable homes
have been created or
preserved. For more
information, visit
www.nyc.gov/hpd.
About the New York City
Housing Development
Corporation (HDC)
The New York City
Housing Development
Corporation (HDC)
provides a variety of
financing programs for
the creation and
preservation of
multi-family affordable
housing throughout the
five boroughs of New
York City. HDC’s
programs are designed to
meet the wide range of
affordable housing needs
of the City's
economically diverse
population. In
partnership with the NYC
Department of Housing
Preservation and
Development, HDC works
to implement Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg’s
New Housing Marketplace
Plan to create of
preserve 165,000
affordable housing units
by 2014. Since the plan
launched in 2004, HDC
financed nearly 44,200
homes for low- ,
moderate- and
middle-income New
Yorkers. The New York
City Housing Development
Corporation is rated AA
by S&P and Aa2 by
Moody’s.
About The Goldman Sachs
Group, Inc.
The Goldman Sachs Group,
Inc. is a leading global
investment banking,
securities and
investment management
firm that provides a
wide range of financial
services to a
substantial and
diversified client base
that includes
corporations, financial
institutions,
governments and
high-net-worth
individuals. Founded in
1869, the firm is
headquartered in New
York and maintains
offices in London,
Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong
Kong and other major
financial centers around
the world.
About BRP Development
Corp.:
Founded in 1995, BRP has
been a trusted and
proven developer and
builder of new homes,
condominiums, apartments
and commercial
properties throughout
New York City and
Philadelphia. From the
company’s modest
beginning as a local
Brooklyn developer, BRP
has successfully evolved
into an integrated
organization offering a
full complement of
development,
construction, and
property management
services.
With a dedicated and
experienced staff
responsible for
approximately 400,000
square feet of
development and
construction, with some
800,000 square feet
currently in its
pipeline, BRP has worked
tirelessly to enhance
and continue its
partnerships with
government agencies and
not-for-profit
organizations to build
quality affordable,
mixed-income, and
market-rate housing
units throughout the
metropolitan areas. For
more information, please
go to
www.brpdev.com.
Contact:
Christina Sanchez, HDC
(212) 227-2644
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