NEW YORK, Nov. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The
Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), a leading nonprofit
affordable housing and community revitalization finance company,
was joined by hundreds of its borrowers, lending and government
partners and others to celebrate the company having deployed more
than $10 billion dollars since its
founding in 1974, and the impact that investment has created in
communities. As part of the celebration, CPC recognized both the
NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) and
the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) with a government
partnership award for their decades of work together and commitment
to making investments in housing that strengthen and stabilize
communities.
"Over the last 44 years we have worked with our partners to
invest in the places and the projects where we can be the most
effective in revitalizing underserved communities. And, while much
has changed since 1974, there will always be a need for a company
like CPC that is committed to helping our public and private
partners solve their most pressing housing and community
revitalization challenges," said Rafael E.
Cestero, President & CEO of CPC. "Tonight, I'm excited
about what the next $10 billion will
look like, and encouraged to know that as CPC grows, so too does
our ability to impact the physical, social and economic outlook of
the communities we serve and the people who call them home."
"For the last four decades CPC has been a first-in source of
stable capital for underserved communities. When others wouldn't
lend because of the risk, CPC was there and committed to its
mission of community revitalization," said Alan Wiener, Lead Independent Director of CPC's
Board of Directors. "By any standard, a $10
billion investment in housing is something to be proud of,
but we must do more. With cities large and small facing critical
revitalization and development challenges, there is still an
enormous need for the sort of patient capital and unique expertise
that CPC can provide."
"Citi congratulates CPC on this significant milestone and is proud
to be a lending partner of CPC in support of its work to strengthen
and revitalize communities through investments in housing," said
Jeremy Johnson, Co-Head of Citi
Community Capital.
CPC began working with HPD when the city agency was founded in
1978, and the two have long shared a mission to solve the serious
problems facing New York City's
neighborhoods by making investments in housing that would
strengthen and stabilize communities. Over their more than four
decades of work together, CPC and HPD have deployed a combined
$3.1 billion to finance the creation
and preservation of 45,000 units of affordable housing.
"For 45 years, CPC has been at the forefront of the City's
efforts to create and preserve affordable housing," said New York
City Department of Housing Preservation and Development
Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer.
"While the nature of the housing crisis has changed over the years,
CPC has been a steadfast partner throughout, continuing to play a
transformational role in neighborhoods across New York City, with investments in affordable
housing that anchors both individuals and communities. On behalf of
everyone at HPD, I want to congratulate CPC on this significant
milestone, and look forward to working together to ensure that this
is the type of city where safe, affordable homes are with
everyone's reach."
Starting in the mid-1980s, the State of New York Mortgage Agency
(SONYMA) has been insuring the entire balance of CPC's loans bought
by the New York City, State, and
other private pension funds. By reducing risk, SONYMA, one of the
state agencies that comprises New York
State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), allows CPC to reach
a broader spectrum of communities and impact a larger number of
renters, all through the assurance of its backing. Throughout their
history together, SONYMA has insured nearly $2 billion in mortgages, spurring the successful
revitalization of neighborhoods throughout New York State.
RuthAnne Visnauskas, Commissioner
of New York State Homes and
Community Renewal said, "Congratulations to CPC and to all the
residents who've benefitted from better housing, stronger
communities, and greater opportunities thanks to CPC's $10 billion investment in New York State. HCR looks forward to
continuing our vital partnership with CPC as we carry out our
$20 billion plan to create or
preserve more than 100,000 affordable homes across State and make a
difference in the lives of New Yorkers."
As a nonprofit multifamily finance company, CPC holds a unique
position within the industry. Throughout its history, during times
of economic crisis and disinvestment when the risk involved in
lending kept many out of struggling and underserved neighborhoods,
CPC was there as a consistent and stable source of capital and
expert technical assistance.
CPC was founded in 1974 as a direct response to the is¬sues of
property abandonment and blight that New
York City was facing at the time; when many urban
neighborhoods fell victim to a vicious cycle of state and city
fiscal crises, falling housing values, the flight of capital,
escalating crime, and infrastructure decay. CPC started making
loans in Washington Heights and
Crown Heights, two communities that hadn't yet been hard hit yet -
where it could help preserve the housing stock and prevent the
disinvestment that was happening in adjacent communities.
In the 1980's the New York City
Police Pension Fund and the New York City Employees' Retirement
System (NYCRS). provided substantial loan purchase agreements for
CPC's rehab programs. It was the first time any public pension fund
had invested in upgrading housing. In the 1990's CPC began to move
into the upstate markets it serves today. In the Hudson Valley,
Capital Region, Central and Western New
York, CPC found local governments were grappling with how
they could revitalize their once-proud, historic downtowns, main
streets, and rural towns. CPC began to provide lending solutions to
address these communities' mixed-use, adaptive reuse, and downtown
revitalization needs. During that time, CPC started partnering with
the New York State Common
Retirement Fund (CRF), using a model similar to the one pioneered
with New York City.
Today, having invested more than $10
billion to finance more than 193,000 units of housing, CPC
is the largest Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)
in the country dedicated to investing in multifamily housing. In
fiscal year 2018, which ended in June of this year, CPC deployed a
record $842 million through its
construction lending, Agency lending, and equity investing
platforms to communities in New
York and throughout the Northeastern United States.
About the Community Preservation Corporation (CPC)
Established in 1974, CPC is a nonprofit affordable housing and
community revitalization finance company that believes housing is
central to transforming underserved neighborhoods into thriving and
vibrant communities. The company provides a full suite of capital
products through its construction lending, permanent lending, and
equity investing platforms. Since inception, CPC has leveraged
approximately $10 billion in private
and public investment to finance more than 193,000 units of
multifamily housing. CPC's work with its partners has helped
revitalize countless neighborhoods and has provided quality housing
for families, senior citizens, and individuals with disabilities.
Visit CPC at communityp.com, and on Facebook, Twitter and
LinkedIn.
SOURCE Community Preservation Corporation