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Niagara City Lofts in Niagara Falls (Submitted photo)
Niagara City Lofts in Niagara Falls (Submitted photo)

KeyBank provides $12 million for workforce and affordable housing development in Niagara Falls

Submitted

Mon, Feb 29th 2016 11:15 am

The Niagara City Lofts will provide workforce and affordable housing, benefit low-income veterans and special needs households

KeyBank announced it will provide a total of $12 million in capital to help develop the Niagara City Lofts in Niagara Falls. The adaptive reuse project will convert an existing, abandoned public high school, built in 1923 and vacant since 1986, into 61 units of workforce housing, affordable housing, market rate apartments and a new commercial community space.

The building has been submitted to the National Register of Historic Places for designation as a historic building.

"Our community development lending and investment platform is designed to fund a diverse set of affordable housing options," said Robert Likes, national manager of CDLI. "We're very proud to support community developments like the Niagara City Lofts, which will help alleviate a widespread affordable housing crisis in this country. The school building, once renovated, will offer valuable housing to those who need it most and become a source of pride." 

Niagara City Lofts' leasing plan calls for setting aside 11 units for rent by special needs households, including veterans. Forty-three of the units will be reserved for individuals who earn 50 and 60 percent of area median income; eight of the units will be designated for rental assistance vouchers - keeping the units affordable to low-income residents for at least 15 years; and 10 of the units will be offered at market rate. 

In addition to providing a diverse set of housing options for the community, Niagara City Lofts will offer residents supportive services, administered by Independent Living of Niagara County. ILNC advocates for and refers special need residents to services that maximize independent living.

"Our team is committed to supporting affordable housing options that meet a range of community needs," said Joe Eicheldinger, the KeyBank relationship manager who closed the deal. "With the Niagara City Lofts, we are creating workforce and affordable housing options that will help the surrounding area prosper."

Niagara City Loft is funded in partnership with the New York State Housing and Community Renewal division, Empire State Development and RBC tax credit equity. 

KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment helps fulfill Key's purpose to help clients and communities thrive by financing projects that stabilize and revitalize communities.

In 2015, Key's CDLI platform provided nearly $1 billion in debt, equity and permanent financing to developments in underserved communities.

KeyCorp was organized more than 160 years ago and is headquartered in Cleveland. One of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, Key has assets of approximately $95.1 billion, as of Dec. 31, 2015. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/.

KeyBank is Member FDIC.

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