CPC and N.Y.C. HPD provide $7.6 million for rehab of two rental buildings

The Community Preservation Corp. (CPC) and the N.Y.C. Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) have provided a $7.6 million construction loan for the moderate renovation of two, five and six-story rental buildings in the Washington Heights section. Mortgage officer Patrick Logan of CPC's Bronx/Manhattan office structured the financing. The buildings, located at 75-89 Wadsworth Terr. between Fairview Ave. and 190th St., contain 83 rental units: nine studios, 50 one-bedrooms, 13 two-bedrooms, nine three-bedrooms and two four-bedrooms. CPC will provide $3.4 million and HPD will provide $4.2 million for a renovation that will include upgrades to the plumbing system, electrical repairs, installation of a new roof, parapet wall repair, kitchen and bathroom replacement, new flooring, new windows and new boilers. The project has been approved for the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority's (NYSERDA) Multifamily Performance Program. In order to qualify for this program, an energy audit was performed on both of the buildings which indicated that energy reduction measures including roof cavity insulation, heat computers, low-e windows, efficient boilers and lighting systems as well as Energy Star refrigerators would significantly reduce the buildings' energy consumption. In addition, the project will employ a solar thermal system to pre-heat domestic hot water, an emerging technology in multifamily apartment buildings where hot water typically comprises a large portion of annual fuel costs. Under the program, NYSERDA will provide a grant of $219,160 to offset the cost of these energy upgrades. Of this amount, $109,600 will be available during construction, while the remainder of the amount will be made available after the buildings achieve 20% reduction in energy use after 12 months of operation following the upgrades. "The benefits of retrofitting antiquated older multifamily buildings are two-fold," said Logan. "First, making apartment buildings more energy efficient helps lower carbon emissions, a boon to the environment. Secondly, retrofitting helps lower operations costs and improves on the overall financial and physical health of the renovated properties. We are delighted to work with HPD and NYSERDA to make this upgrade possible." The developer is 75-89 Associates, LLC which is partially owned by Frank Anelante and Joseph Zitolo of Lemle and Wolff, Inc. (L&W), long-time borrowers from CPC. Logan said, "CPC has worked with L&W for over 30 years, helping provide them with over 50 loans. They currently manage over 6,700 apartments in over 300 buildings and have helped preserve the neighborhoods of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx." Since its founding in 1974, CPC has invested more than $7 billion in more than 136,000 units of housing.