Related, CPC-Led Partnership to Service Signature Bank’s $5.8B Rent-Stabilized Portfolio

NEW YORK—A partnership led by The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), with Neighborhood Restore HDFC, and Related Fund Management (RFM) as partners announced on Dec. 15 it has closed on two joint venture transactions acquiring a 5% equity interest in two newly formed entities to service the $5.8 billion in loans that consist of a portion of Signature Bank’s loan portfolio secured by rent stabilized and/or rent controlled multifamily housing in New York City.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is retaining a 95% equity interest in the Signature Bank rent-stabilized loan portfolio.

The FDIC selected the partnership’s bid on six pools out of the Signature Bank loan portfolio. The CPC-Related, Neighborhood Restore HDFC application was supported by a broad cross section of New York City and State elected and public officials, as well as dozens of local and national nonprofit organizations.

“CPC is proud to work with our partners at Related Fund Management and Neighborhood Restore HDFC to bring long-term financial stability to these properties,” said Rafael E. Cestero, Chief Executive Officer of the Community Preservation Corporation. “As a nonprofit housing finance company with five decades of work in New York City, CPC understands the unique role that rent-regulated housing plays in our neighborhoods, the distinct financial challenges facing its owners and operators in today’s market, and its importance as a haven of affordability to its tenants. We are committed to a mission of preserving the long-term affordability as well as the physical and financial stability of these properties. We look forward to working with our borrowers and community partners to accomplish this mission.”

The ventures include 868 permanent loans, secured by properties containing nearly 35,000 units – 80 percent of which are characterized as rent regulated. CPC will be responsible for servicing the loans. Building ownership and management of the associated properties will remain the same.

“We are proud to be collaborating with CPC and Related Fund Management, in partnership with the FDIC, on the Signature bank portfolio of rent regulated assets in New York City,” said Salvatore D’Avola, Executive Director of Neighborhood Restore HDFC. “Neighborhood Restore is committed to the stabilization of this housing and seeks to achieve positive outcomes for the tenants, owners and the surrounding communities. We are prepared to commence this initiative with 25 years of experience providing stewardship to at-risk and distressed properties in neighborhoods throughout New York City.”
“Related Fund Management is proud to support CPC and Neighborhood Restore with a strategic equity investment in this venture. Our collective expertise, track-record, and mission to preserve affordable housing will help secure the future of these buildings,” said Justin Metz, Managing Principal, Related Fund Management.

“From historic investments in public housing to record-breaking creation of affordable and supportive housing, our administration has been unwavering in its efforts to provide safe, affordable homes for New Yorkers,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “It is that commitment that guided our support of The Community Preservation Corporation and Neighborhood Restore, two organizations with decades-long track records of partnering with the city to provide and protect much-needed affordable housing for New Yorkers and that will be faithful stewards of this critical portfolio. And make no mistake: New York tenants in 30,000 affordable homes can breathe a sigh of relief today. We applaud the FDIC for safeguarding these valuable resources and overseeing a fair process with the right priorities.”

The partnership, which will operate collectively as Community Stabilization Partners (CSP) has decades of experience in the financing, management, and loan servicing of affordable and rent controlled multifamily housing.

CPC, which is leading the partnership, is a nonprofit multifamily finance company founded in New York City in 1974 to provide financial and technical resources to stabilize underserved communities. Since then, CPC has invested over $14 billion to finance the creation and preservation of more than 225,000 units of workforce and affordable housing, and is an equity investor in the ownership of 4,200 units of affordable housing. CPC has a loan servicing portfolio of $3.78 billion consisting of more than 1,700 loans of primarily affordable and rent regulated properties.

Related Fund Management is a strategic investor in the partnership. Founded in 2009, RFM has established itself over more than a decade as a highly skilled and differentiated real estate investment manager. With approximately $12 billion of assets under management, RFM and its affiliates have a long history in affordable housing preservation.

Neighborhood Restore HDFC, which will serve as a strategic asset manager, has a history together with its affiliated not-for-profit entities of overseeing affordable housing development and preservation programs in New York City that seek to foster neighborhood stabilization by efficiently transitioning properties from physical and financial distress to responsible third-party ownership. Since its formation in 1999, Neighborhood Restore has successfully preserved more than 12,000 units of affordable housing in over 1,900 buildings throughout New York City.