New York Affordable Developers Pool Resources

Affordable housing groups in New York are pooling properties under the control of a new member organization, JOE NYC, to help them "get an edge" in the real estate market, Oscar Perry Abello reports for Next City.

Community-based non-profit developers have had a heavy hand in creating and preserving affordable housing in New York since the 1970s, the article notes: Over the past 25 years, they've helped procure 120,000 affordable units in the city.

Today, these developers are faced with an increasingly expensive real estate market and the potential for currently affordable properties to "fall out" of the Low-income Housing Tax Credit incentive program. Joining forces under the JOE NYC umbrella could help them preserve and add to their existing portfolios as well as undertake new construction.

By pooling properties in JOE NYC, the nonprofits can start to combine their buildings in that way to get the bigger loan together, instead of trying for a bunch of smaller loans they might not be able to afford.

On the new construction front, JOE members hope they can partner with community-based nonprofit developers in going after requests for proposals from city agencies for new affordable housing developments — and beat out for-profit developers.

JOE currently has ten member organizations, and expects to build a portfolio of at least 3,000 affordable units over the next year.