Hudson, Related land “complex” financing package for next Riverwalk building

Hudson Companies and Related Companies secured about $123 million in debt from a trio of public agencies and a bank to build the next phase of their Riverwalk development on Roosevelt Island.

Various government agencies and Citigroup’s community capital division provided the financing for the 340-unit residential project, which will consist entirely of affordable rental units.

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development provided a $20.29 million permanent subsidy loan, while the New York City Housing Development Corporation gave $12.9 million in tax-exempt bonds. The New York State HCR through its Homes for Working Families program loaned $12.5 million.

Meanwhile, Citi provided a $74.6 million construction loan and letter of credit for the tax-exempt bonds as well as a $3 million subsidy loan. The bank also committed to buying the tax credits from the project’s tax credit syndicator, WNC.

In a statement, Citi’s Tricia Yarger called the financing structure for the project “complex.”

Sixty percent of the 340 rental units will be permanently affordable, and the rest will be affordable for 40 years. The units will be available to families with household incomes ranging from 40 to 165 percent of the area median income.

The developers in 2017 filed plans to construct the 21-story, $135.8 million project, the eighth of nine buildings in the complex.

Construction began this month and will be open to residents in 2021, according to the release. The work also includes the renovation of the Firefighters Field park.

Roosevelt Island has experienced a surge in development, mostly because of the 2.1 million-square-foot Cornell Tech campus that’s under development. Real estate experts expect property values on the island to rise, as it transforms from an almost suburb to a tech hub.