Community Preservation Corp. (CPC), a nonprofit affordable housing and community revitalization finance company, has expanded its commitment to serving small multifamily buildings with the launch of its new Flex Small Loan program.
The program includes both construction and permanent financing with loans as low as $100,000 for the acquisition, development, and rehabilitation of small multifamily and mixed-use buildings.
According to CPC, small landlords who own buildings with fewer than 50 units represent 72% of the total rental housing stock in New York, with high concentrations in New York City’s outer boroughs, Long Island, and in urban communities throughout each upstate region. CPC’s Flex Small Loan program provides a solution for these owners to keep their properties in good repair and sustainable for the long term.
With the new program, CPC has redoubled its commitment to serving the needs of small multifamily buildings. Construction financing ranges from $100,000 to $2.5 million, and permanent financing ranges from $100,000 to $1 million.
“Small rental buildings are the backbone of our communities, and while they make up a majority of our housing stock, owners and operators of small buildings face unique challenges when it comes to finding rightsized financing,” said Sadie McKeown, executive vice president of construction lending and initiatives at CPC. “CPC has spent more than four decades focusing on the impact small buildings have on communities, and tailoring our financing products to serve their unique needs. The Flex Small Loan program allows us to reach deeper and serve a segment of the multifamily stock that has historically been underserved.”
More than 70% of the nonprofit’s investments since its founding have been in small buildings with five to 49 units. Earlier this year, CPC was selected by the state of New York to administer the New York Forward Loan Fund program to provide financing to small multifamily building owners who had experienced rental income loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also has helped both New York City and the state administer their small affordable housing and small buildings disaster recovery programs. In 2019, it also launched a guide to help navigate the financing for small multifamily rental properties.
