Sidley represented Merchants Capital Corp. as Freddie Mac’s seller/servicer in its credit enhancement of a portion of the US$236 million financing provided by the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to a public-private partnership that ground leased Harlem River Houses from the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). This financing will provide the modernization and renovation of over 690 apartments in eight buildings at the Harlem River Houses and is the latest such financing effort spear-headed by HDC and NYCHA which has provided for over US$3.4 billion in funds to renovate nearly 15,500 public housing apartments across New York City.
The Harlem River Houses was the first federally funded, built, and owned public housing development in New York City for African Americans, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 for its significance in the areas of architecture, community planning, and social-humanitarian history. The comprehensive rehabilitation scope will retain and restore the historically significant features while bringing other energy and safety improvements.
The Sidley team was led by Aviva Yakren and Adam Verstandig, with assistance from Samuel Goldstein and paralegal Liyan Gu.