Notice_of_Availability_of_State_and_Federal_Funds Notice of Availability of State and Federal Funds

3/30/16 N.Y. St. Reg. Notice of Availability of State and Federal Funds

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXXVIII, ISSUE 13

March 30, 2016

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDS

 

Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery Division of Housing and Community Renewal 641 Lexington Ave. New York, NY 10022

DEVELOPERS SEEKING FINANCING FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION, AND SUBSTANTIAL REHABILITATION OF SITE-SPECIFIC, AFFORDABLE, MULTI-FAMILY RENTAL HOUSING IN COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY SUPERSTORM SANDY, TROPICAL STORM LEE, OR HURRICANE IRENE, (THE “COVERED STORMS”) THAT WILL ALSO HAVE FIRST MORTGAGES FINANCED BY TAX-EXEMPT PRIVATE ACTIVITY BONDS ISSUED BY NEW YORK STATE HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY (“HFA”)

New York Rising Rental Buildings Recovery Program Multi-Family/Affordable Housing Fund (AHF)

AHF utilizes federal Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds provided to New York State and administered through the Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC) New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) and the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) anticipate an appropriation of approximately $12,000,000 for State Fiscal Year 2016-17, which will be awarded pursuant to applications submitted under this Notice.

Applications will be accepted through May 27, 2016 for allocations totaling up to $7,000,000 for projects located in counties other than Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester, and $9,000,000 for projects located in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties. However, AHF resources in excess of these amounts may be awarded if such additional funding is deemed necessary to meet exceptional needs related to recovery from one or more of the Covered Storms. . Housing Projects within the five Boroughs of New York City will not be considered for funding as New York City received and administers its own allocation of CDBG-DR. Applications will be accepted for projects located in the following counties: with housing damaged by one or more of the Covered Storms: Albany, Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Nassau, Oneida, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Suffolk, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren, Washington, and Westchester.

Applications requesting AHF may be submitted at any time between March 31, 2016 and March 27, 2016. Applications requesting AHF may be submitted at any time between March 31, 2016 and May 27, 2016, or until all allocations of AHF are committed. Complete and eligible AHF applications will be reviewed and considered in three rounds of funding consideration as follows:

Eligible applications not awarded funding in prior rounds may be considered for awards in later rounds.

Notwithstanding resource availability, applications must be received by HCR by 5:00 pm EST, on May 27, 2016. The application deadline is firm as to date and hour. Applications received after the specified dates and time swill be deemed ineligible and will not be considered for funding.

This Notice of Credit and Funding Availability (“Notice”) describes the programmatic and submission requirements for the program.

Applicants may only apply under this Notice for awards for new construction, or substantial rehabilitation of site-specific multi-family rental housing Projects that will also have first mortgages financed by tax-exempt Private Activity Bonds (“Bonds”) issued by the New York State Housing Finance Agency (“HFA. Any awards made under this Notice will be contingent on the Project receiving an award of Bond volume cap authority sufficient to fund the Project’s first mortgage.

This Notice explains the process by which HCR and GOSR will accept and evaluate applications requesting AHF resources. Prospective Applicants may request technical assistance in preparing an application at any time.

HCR and GOSR reserve the right to award all, a portion of, or none of the AHF program funds based upon funding availability, readiness, feasibility of the Projects, the Applicant’s ability to meet HCR and GOSR criteria for funding, and the Applicant’s ability to advance the State’s housing goals. HCR also reserves the right to review applications requesting AHF as applications for funding under other programs for which the Project may be eligible through HCR, and to change or disallow aspects of the applications received. HCR reserves the right to make any such changes as an express condition of its award commitment for the Project.

HCR will seek to award these limited AHF resources so as to promote a geographic distribution of such financing, and GOSR may seek to promote a geographic distribution of areas most severely impacted by the Covered Storms. Therefore, awards for proposed Projects may be denied in areas of the State that have recently been awarded HCR capital financing. Funding may also be denied to Projects where market studies or other analyses indicate low-income housing saturation.

AHF Program

AHF is a housing development program that provides financing assistance for acquisition, capital costs and related soft costs associated with the new construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing developments to address unmet housing need in area damaged by one or more Covered Storms.

Under this AHF RFP, more than 50% of the project costs must be financed by PABs issued by HFA and allocated from the State’s PAB volume cap. The bond financing provided by HFA qualifies the project for an allowance of 4% Low-Income Housing Credits (often termed “as-of-right” tax credits).

AHF financing may only be utilized to finance the development of residential properties where the majority of units are affordable to households with incomes up to 80% of area median income (AMI), as adjusted for household size. However, for applications under this notice of funding availability, up to 30% of the Project’s units may be affordable to tenants with incomes above 60% of AMI, provided that those units are deemed to be necessary for the financial viability of a mixed-income project. Projects must also be compliant with relevant income thresholds under HFA tax exempt bond financing program and low income house tax credit requirements. Applicants should be aware that federal law and regulations require that GOSR contracts providing CDBG-DR assistance contain certain provisions. All Proposals must comply with all Federal, State and local laws, including rules and regulations specific to CDBG-DR. CDBG-DR rules and regulations include labor, environmental, green building standards, accessibility, and equal employment opportunity. Davis-Bacon wage rates and compliance requirements will apply to all developments with 8 or more units where CDBG-DR funds are used to finance construction. The maximum amount of AHF financing that may be requested per project is $7,000,000 to any Project located outside of Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties, or $9,000,000 within Nassau, Suffolk, or Westchester Counties.

HCR and GOSR will allocate resources made available through this Notice using the following criteria: fundamentals, leverage, outcomes, and relationship of the Project to damage caused by Superstorm Sandy, Tropical Storm Lee, or Hurricane Irene. This framework accommodates programmatic preferences and housing goals currently utilized by HCR and GOSR. HCR priorities include:

Regional Economic Development Council Projects;

Transit Oriented Development;

Mitchell-Lama Preservation;

Housing Opportunity Projects;

Mixed Income/Mixed Use Revitalization Projects;

Supportive Housing Projects.

Programmatic preferences and housing goals utilized by GOSR include:

Repair of existing buildings that have documented damage from one of the Covered Storms;

New Construction on-site of replacement rental housing for units placed out of service by one of the Covered Storms;

Sites located in or proximate to Community Reconstruction Program areas;

Marketing preference for rental households who were displaced by one of the Covered Storms;

Resiliency measures that exceed basic standards;

Supportive Housing Projects;

Support for the preservation and rehabilitation of public housing.

AHF Pre-application Requirements.

Prospective Applicants will be required to schedule and coordinate a pre-application meeting with development team members, HCR and GOSR staff. The pre-application meeting will enable HCR and GOSR to jointly assess Project readiness and determine whether it is appropriate for the Applicant to proceed with submission of any AHF application. Should an Applicant submit an AHF application to HCR without previously conducting such a meeting, HCR reserves the right, in its full discretion, to terminate the application without further review.

This Notice provides a summary description of the AHF programs and procedures for applying for assistance thereunder. Additional information about these programs, including a fuller version of this Notice, is available on the HCR website, at: http://www.nyshcr.org

For an application, contact: Mark Flescher, Vice President, Special Projects, Homes and Community Renewal, at the above address, [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]