NEWS HEADLINES

Citi Launches New York Preservation Fund

By Donna Kimura

Citi Community Capital and L+M Development Partners have announced a $100 million fund to help finance the preservation and rehabilitation of more than 2,000 affordable apartments around New York City in the next three years.

The New York Affordable Housing Preservation Fund will invest with a range of owners and operators. It will focus on properties that may be in immediate or longer-term risk of becoming unaffordable to low- and moderate-income households.

Officials said they hope the initiative will become a model for similar efforts nationally.

“There is a lack of affordable rental housing available to low- to moderate-income households in New York City, and we take great pride that this fund will benefit our New York neighbors,” said Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citi.

An affiliate of L+M will be the fund’s managing member and will be responsible for executing the fund’s investment strategy.

As part of the effort, Citi will look to make debt financing available on projects in which the fund is investing.

Rafael E. Cestero, commissioner of New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, said the new partnership between Citi and L+M supports the city’s New Housing Marketplace Plan. Over the past eight years, the city has been working to finance the creation or preservation of more than 165,000 affordable homes by 2014. As of June 30, the city had closed on more than 108,600 units.

The new fund will be an important source of private capital toward the ongoing effort, according to officials.