Developers Close on $100M Refinance for Riverdale Osborne Towers in Brownsville, Brooklyn

The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) and Proto Property Services have closed on a $100 million refinance for Riverdale Osborne Towers, a 525-unit affordable housing complex in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The partners plan to use the financing to complete extensive renovations and facility modernization throughout the complex, which is addressed as 420-440 Watkins Street. The funds will also ensure the property remains financially stable and preserves long-term affordability for residents.

Constructed in 1976, Riverdale Osborne Towers complex comprises four nine-story residential buildings. In addition to affordable units, there is also a preschool, 10,500 square feet of retail space, and a grocery store.

When CPC and Proto Property Services acquired the property in 2007, it was reported to suffer from a pervasive rodent problem and had large holes in hallway ceilings, rotting walls, non-working elevators, and other unsafe conditions. The partners were selected by Catholic Charities to redevelop and renovate the property to create more habitable conditions.

“The need for quality affordable homes in New York is critical, and helping to preserve and improve our city’s existing affordable housing is as important as creating new housing,” said Tell Metzger, senior vice president, equity investments at CPC. “We are proud to work with Proto and our other partners on this refinance so that we can continue to provide the Riverdale Osborne tenants with the affordable, high-quality housing they can be proud to call home.”

Physical upgrades include the construction of a new central lobby and on-site management office, modernized tenant kitchens and bathrooms, upgrades to the façade and surrounding grounds, and elevator repairs, among other major facility upgrades. The owners have also removed tenants who were illegally occupying vacant apartments, switched out existing building staff, and enforced new security protocols.

Initial project costs were estimated at $39 million. The $100 million refinance was provided by Rockport Mortgage Corporation as a HUD223(f) loan.

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