Berkadia Provides $219M to Rehab Rangel Houses in New York City

Genesis Companies has secured $669 million in financing to rehabilitate Rangel Houses, a 984-unit public housing complex in New York City, Commercial Observer can first report. 

Berkadia provided $219 million in first-mortgage debt that is backed by Fannie Mae, while the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) provided $214 million in development financing, with an additional $94.5 million provided through federal and state tax credit equity. 

Goldman Sachs provided an undisclosed tax credit investment. Berkadia’s Matthew Baptiste and Heather Olson arranged the financing.

Berkadia’s Fannie Mae loan features a 15-year term, including five years of interest-only payments, and is expected to blend Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) debt with Section 18 programs to rehabilitate the affordable housing complex. 

All units in the building hold residents earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income.

Baptiste described the financing in a statement as “a highly coordinated capital structure that combines public subsidies, tax credit equity and agency financing.”

Located at 159-16 Harlem River Drive in Upper Manhattan, Rangel Houses opened in 1951 as an 11-acre public housing campus. The complex is structured as eight high-rise elevator buildings that serve as home to more than 1,800 residents. 

Karim Hutson, president and CEO of Genesis Companies, said that his firm plans “comprehensive renovations” to update and modernize nearly 1,000 apartment units and improve a complex that includes playgrounds, commercial space, a senior center, a day care center, and a youth center.

“This closing represents years of work to bring together the resources and partners needed to make a transformative investment in Rangel Houses,” added Hutson. 

Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com.