11/17/2014
Citizens Financial Group provides multimillion-dollar commercial real estate financing package for upstate New York senior affordable housing development
Spa Apartments LLC preserves historic building, redevelops 109 units for seniors
CLIFTON SPRINGS, NY (11/17/14)– Citizens Financial Group (NYSE: CFG) announced today that it is providing a multimillion-dollar commercial real estate financing package to Spa Apartments, LLC, to purchase a historic former sanatorium and redevelop the property into 109 senior affordable housing apartments.
The development at 11 East Main St. in Clifton Springs will provide 41 studios, 65 one-bedrooms and three two-bedrooms with 89 units available for tenants with incomes at or below 60% area median income (AMI) and 17 units for tenants at or below 80% AMI.
To support the development, Citizens is providing an $8.14 million direct pay Commercial Letter of Credit and $5.85 million in equity through the purchase of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and Historic Tax Credits.
Sponsored by Rochester’s Cornerstone Group Ltd, the commercial letter of credit provides credit enhancement for tax-exempt bonds issued by the New York State Housing Finance Agency (NYSHFA). Co-developers are Rochester’s Cornerstone Group Ltd and Home Leasing, LLC.
“The Citizens team recognizes the critical need for senior affordable housing and has been a great partner, providing equity support and construction financing for the Spa Apartments project, which will provide more than 100 seniors with an improved quality of affordable housing,” said Roger Brandt, president of Rochester’s Cornerstone Group Ltd. “This is a very special development and we look forward to preserving this beautiful building.”
The first floor of the Richardsonian Romanesque style building includes a chapel with seating for 150 and a glass mosaic of the Last Supper designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, a 1901 William & Charles Pilcher Co. organ and stained glass windows.
The development is connected to the Clifton Springs Hospital and Clinic, a 262-bed facility that provides general acute care, primary care and nursing home care as well as numerous other specialty care services.
“We are pleased to be working with leaders in the communities we serve to provide funding for important affordable housing developments such as the Spa Apartments,” said Jim Gaspo, president of Citizens Bank, New York. “Our commitment to affordable housing complements the bank’s charitable program, Citizens Helping Citizens, which addresses the key areas of hunger, economic development, financial education and volunteerism as well as housing.”
A little more than a year ago, Citizens announced a five-year, $1 billion commitment to fund affordable housing and community development projects. Since the beginning of 2013, Citizens has made more than $400 million in community development loans and investments.
Renovation of the Spa Apartments, which is expected to last 12 months, will create 75 construction jobs, Brandt said.
Formerly known as RBS Citizens, Citizens Commercial Banking is the commercial banking division of Providence, R.I.-based Citizens Financial Group. For more information about Citizens Commercial Banking, go to citizensbanking.com/commercial.
About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $131.3 billion in assets as of September 30, 2014. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, the company offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Consumer Banking helps its retail customers “bank better” with mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,200 ATMs and approximately 1,200 Citizens Bank and Charter One branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Citizens also provides mortgage lending, auto lending, student lending and commercial banking services in selective markets nationwide. Citizens Commercial Banking offers corporate, institutional and not-for-profit clients a full range of wholesale banking products and services including lending and deposits, capital markets, treasury services, foreign exchange and interest hedging, leasing and asset finance, specialty finance and trade finance.
Citizens operates via subsidiaries Citizens Bank, N.A., and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. Additional information about Citizens and its full line of products and services can be found atwww.citizensbank.com.
