Camber Property, Belveron Partners Nab $66M for Brooklyn Affordable Housing Buy
By Cathy Cunningham June 10, 2020 10:15 am
reprints
Camber Property Group and Belveron Partners have closed on their purchase of a $90 million affordable housing portfolio in Flatbush, Brooklyn, the developers told Commercial Observer.
Merchants Bank of Indiana provided $66 million in acquisition financing in the deal.
The eight-building portfolio includes 384 units. The transaction preserves all of the units’ affordability for 30 years, and 50 units within the portfolio will have permanent affordability protections.
PincusCo first reported news of the sale.
Camber and Belveron teamed up with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (NYHPD) to convert the rent stabilized and market-rate portfolio to affordable housing. Additionally, 26 units will be reserved for use by formerly homeless New Yorkers.
“As our city recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that the need for affordable and formerly homeless housing is greater now than ever,” Rick Gropper, principal and co-founder of Camber Property Group, said. “This investment furthers our commitment to that important goal. The portfolio represents a deep investment in the future of Flatbush, and we look forward to a productive partnership with our tenants and the greater Brooklyn community as we rehabilitate these properties and create desperately needed affordable housing.”
The properties included in the sale are 91 East 18th Street, 95 East 18 Street, 682 Ocean Avenue, 672 Ocean Avenue, 666 Ocean Avenue, 816 Ocean Avenue, 280 East 21st Street and 221 Linden Boulevard. The Linden Boulevard property is the largest building, with 145 units.
In January, Belveron Partners and Camber Property Group joined forces with LIHC Investment Group to purchase an eight-building, 1,275-unit rent-controlled apartment portfolio in the Bronx, as reported by Crain’s New York Business.
A year earlier, the developers also teamed up with NYHPD to acquire a 11-building affordable portfolio in the Bronx, as reported by The Real Deal, and again in October 2018 to purchase three buildings in Morningside Heights, West Harlem and Washington Heights, as reported by CO. In each of the aforementioned transactions, the developers worked to extend the affordability of the properties’ units.
“An unwavering dedication to affordable housing is in New York’s DNA,” Louis Harrison, a partner at Belveron Partners, said in prepared remarks. “It is part of what makes this city so great, citizens and agencies aligned to work to provide homes for everyone.”
