City launches $10M loan program for underrepresented and emerging developers

The fund was created to help minority and women-owned firms get access to affordable financing

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has partnered with Basis Management Group to launch a new fund that will provide low-interest loans to emerging developers, reports DNAinfo. Through the Emerging Developer Loan Fund, $10 million of capital will be committed towards making affordable financing more accessible, especially to women and minority-owned development firms.

The loans will range from $100,000 to $2.5 million and will be distributed to developers with their sights set on building mixed-use residential and small commercial projects under $30 million. While any development firm with annual revenue under $10 million can apply, the NYC EDC created the program mainly to aid minority and women-owned companies. "Investing and working with minority or women-owned businesses is one of the most important goals we have as a city today," said Councilmember Donovan Richards in a press release statement. These firms tend to face "major hurdles" in attempting to obtain affordable financing, stated NYC EDC officials.

The loans can be used to assist with pre-development and land acquisition costs, something that banks and lenders typically don’t want to finance since it’s considered high-risk. While $10 million isn’t exactly a lot to shell out to emerging developers, EDC is hoping to expand the pot in the future. "[We are] open to additional investments by commercial banks, foundations, and more in order to increase the total amount of capital for the program so long as the bottom-line goal remains mutual," stated NYC EDC public affairs Vice President, Stephanie Báez in a statement to Curbed.

Applicants will be vetted by Basis Management Group while the EDC will be charged with making the final determination on which projects will receiving funding. Interested candidates can complete an application here.

from
http://ny.curbed.com/2016/8/15/12492804/nyc-emerging-developer-loan-fund-launch