LISC New York City announced it is expanding one of its flagship initiatives—the New York Land Opportunity Program (NYLOP)—with the help of a $500,000 grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.
The program helps mission-driven organizations develop and preserve affordable housing on their land. Developed by LISC NYC, it is a partnership with the New York City Mayor’s Office and the New York City Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and Veterans’ Services (DVS) departments to address the city’s affordable housing shortage.
In addition to preserving and developing new affordable housing, the program strengthens the ability of mission-driven organizations to remain anchor institutions in their neighborhoods, even as significant change is taking place around them.
“We’re proud to support NYLOP’s mission of addressing New York City’s ongoing affordable housing crisis,” said Dave Walsh, Northeast regional manager for community development banking at Chase. “It’s important for all industry players to work together to identify solutions for preserving and creating affordable housing. We’re dedicated to investing in programs like this and financing development projects that make a lasting impact on local communities.”
LISC NYC’s NYLOP will provide participating nonprofits with free technical assistance to preserve and develop new affordable housing on their land, including architectural, legal, and financing assistance.
The grant announcement follows LISC NYC’s selection of its second NYLOP cohort in August—six nonprofit owners who will receive support to preserve their Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 202 properties, which house very low-income seniors. Earlier this year, LISC Bay Area, LISC San Antonio, and LISC Buffalo announced plans to replicate NYLOP in their communities.
The original NYLOP cohort, selected in 2017, consisted of five New York City churches that received comprehensive technical assistance to evaluate their land, create a development scenario, and identify a developer partner. After completing the program, four of the five organizations issued requests for proposals in March 2018, and, of these groups, three have formed partnerships with developers—all to develop 100% affordable housing and community spaces.
“NYLOP responds to the steep decline in available land for new affordable housing development at a time when New York City is experiencing a housing crisis,” said Eva Alligood, interim executive director of LISC NYC. “The program also addresses the issue that the city’s limited affordable housing stock is at risk of converting to market without a strategy for helping mission-driven organizations to preserve their housing. Many mission-driven organizations are committed to preserving and developing affordable housing, but need technical assistance with real estate finance to do so. We are tremendously grateful to JPMorgan Chase for partnering with us to meet this critical need.”
