New York, NY. International law firm Nixon Peabody LLP is proud to have advised Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (Wells Fargo) in a $621.5 million transaction to refinance New York’s Co-op City, preserving quality affordable housing for thousands of families in the Bronx.
Co-op City is the world’s largest housing cooperative, with approximately 45,000 residents and more than 15,000 residential units across 320 acres. Nixon Peabody served as legal counsel to Wells Fargo in connection the original 2012 financing and substantial rehabilitation of the project and is proud to participate in this latest high-impact transaction.
The refinancing again included an FHA-insured loan to Riverbay Corporation, the ownership/management entity for Co-op City. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Mortgage Insurance Fund of the State of New York Mortgage Agency, New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and the NYC Housing Development Corporation were all involved in the loan refinancing.
As a result of the refinancing, Riverbay will have more than $120 million for immediate and future capital needs.
“This transaction was once again the result of the incredible work and cooperation among private, federal, state, and local entities,” said Nixon Peabody Affordable Housing & Real Estate counsel Patrice Harris, who led the firm’s 2012 deal team and served as co-lead for the recent refinance.
Nixon Peabody Affordable Housing & Real Estate partner Alexander Rosso, who co-led this latest refinance, said: “Our firm worked with the parties on the prior financing a decade ago, and we’re thrilled to see the continued positive impact this transaction will create for the Co-op City community.”
In addition to housing, Co-op City has multiple schools, three commercial malls, and its own power plant. It has provided tens of thousands of families the opportunity to grow up in a stable middle-class community. This refinancing arrangement will help ensure tens of thousands more have that same opportunity for many years to come.
The housing cooperative will now benefit from a new 35-year FHA-insured loan, which will enable Riverbay to devote additional funds to the preservation, maintenance, and repair of this vital affordable housing community in New York City.
