Affordable Housing Finance

Overview

In the area of affordable housing and finance, Real Estate + Development Group lawyers offer representation in these three areas: Development, Finance, and Public Finance. Debbie J. Gezon and Andrew L. Kramer are Co-Chairs of Affordable Housing Finance and Candace M. Cunningham is Chair of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Lending in Finance.  

Our Services and Our Team

Development

Robinson+Cole advises for-profit developers, nonprofit organizations, housing authorities, and redevelopment agencies on acquisition, development, management, and financing of affordable housing projects. Our lawyers proactively work with clients to provide the following services:

  • syndication of state and federal low income housing tax credits, historic tax credits, brownfields credits and new markets tax credits
  • regularly work with state and local financing agencies

  • applying for allocations and incentives
  • drafting and negotiating acquisition and partnership agreements
  • facilitating and negotiating financing terms
  • integrating subsidies
  • preparing relevant documentation

To help our clients develop creative strategies  to achieve their objectives, we collaborate with lawyers of these Robinson+Cole practice groups:

  • Corporate
  • Tax + Exempt Organizations
  • Construction
  • Environmental, Energy + Telecommunications
  • Land Use

Finance

Robinson+Cole is a premier firm in representing lenders and other participants in complex affordable housing financing transactions. Our lawyers have closed over $1 billion in financings annually over the past several years ($3 billion in 2016) on behalf of these entities:

  • commercial banks
  • investment banks
  • mortgage banks
  • letter of credit issuers
  • private funds
  • Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sellers/servicers

Utilizing federal, state, and local subsidy and incentive programs, we apply cutting-edge structures for the following:

  • conventional loans
  • construction loans
  • tax-exempt bond financings
  • credit enhancements
  • low-income housing tax credit financings

Our strong working relationships with governmental housing authorities and housing finance agencies across the country have proven to be instrumental in facilitating these complicated transactions. Group members are also committed to helping clients meet their affordable housing objectives and fulfill their obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act.

Public Finance

Robinson+Cole has provided bond counsel services for securities offerings by states, municipalities, public authorities, and agencies for more than 60 years. As one of the first recognized bond counsel firms in the country, we have been listed in The Bond Buyer's Municipal Marketplace (Red Book) since the early 1940s. Our lawyers rank among the leaders, nationally and regionally, as bond counsel and underwriter's counsel. Using multiple sources of funding, the Public Finance Group has served as bond counsel to housing authorities throughout the country on many financings, including capital funds revenue bonds and credit-enhanced transactions.

    • Experience
      • Representation of national bank as bond purchaser concerning Sheridan Station Apartments, $27 million redevelopment of a former public housing project site in Washington, D.C., into a mixed-income housing development. The development was financed with tax exempt bonds issued by the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency, Federal Low Income Tax Credits, American Recovery and Redevelopment Act stimulus funds, and HOPE VI funds provided through the District of Columbia Housing Authority, a subsidy loan from the District of Columbia office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and a U.S. Department of Energy grant.

         

      • Representation of a national bank as construction lender and Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer concerning the financing of the Elliott Chelsea Apartments in New York City. This $65 million mixed income project is being developed on excess property formerly owned by the New York City Housing Authority and is being financed with tax exempt bonds issued by the New York City Housing Development Corporation and subsidy loans provided by the New York City Housing Development Corporation, the City of New York Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York City Housing Authority. The project will benefit from a tax exemption pursuant to Section 421a of the New York Real Property Tax Law.

         

      • Representation of a national bank concerning a $5.4 million Freddie Mac immediate funding cash loan provided by the client under the Freddie Mac Mod-Rehab Targeted Affordable Housing product line to finance acquisition and rehabilitation of a 100-unit rental property known as Foothill Gardens Apartments in Carson City, Nevada. All units at the property are covered by a long-term Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Contract. In addition to the loan, the transaction will be financed with $4.2 million of a 9 percent low-income housing tax credit equity. The $5.4 million loan will be a bifurcated structure consisting of a real estate loan, underwritten at low-income housing tax credit rents and amortized over 35 years, and a Housing Assistance Payments overage loan underwritten with the additional Housing Assistance Payments over the low-income housing tax credit rents and amortized over 20 years.

         
      • Representation of a national bank concerning a $6.1 million construction loan and a $650,000 forward-commitment permanent loan provided by the client for acquisition and construction of a 48-unit senior housing rental property in Marion, Massachusetts. In addition to the construction loan, the transaction will be financed with $5.9 million of 9 percent low-income housing tax credit equity provided by the client and $2.2 million of subordinate financing provided by state and local government agencies. Robinson & Cole performed due diligence, preparation, and negotiation of construction and permanent loan documents; preparation and negotiation of subordination agreements with subordinate lenders; review and negotiation of the limited partnership agreement between the developer and the tax credit investor; and review and negotiation of the ground lease and amendments.

         

      • Representation of a regional affordable housing developer in connection with the rehabilitation of a former mill in East Hampton, Massachusetts, to be financed by a regional lender together with federal, state, and historic tax credits and subsidy funds from the City of East Hampton CPA Grant, the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The building will contain 50 units of affordable housing.

         
      • Represented a national bank in its role as a lender for the Cambridge Housing Authority's (CHA) first four Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversion deals. The bank closed the tax-exempt bond financing for 511 units of public housing conversions under HUD's RAD program. The RAD program was created to give public housing authorities a tool to preserve and improve public housing properties by restructuring HUD subsidies into long-term contracts that facilitate the private financing of improvements. These first four transactions were part of a long-term project to convert all 2,129 of CHA's public housing units to RAD. 

      • Represented a national lender providing a construction loan in the amount of $7,200,000 to finance the development of 66 units of mixed-income rental units on property ground leased from a local housing authority in Massachusetts. This transaction involved several sources of subordinate financing sources, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, state grants, and local financing.

      • Represented a national lender providing a construction loan in the amount of $31,778,000 to finance the acquisition and rehabilitation of 190 units of multifamily low-income housing in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. The loan structure involved a tax-exempt bond financing as well as multiple sources of subordinate financing from the state and local government. Additionally, the project involved negotiating complex zoning and permitting issues related to the property’s preexisting nonconforming zoning status.

      • Represented a regional lender providing a $9 million construction loan for the development of 40 multifamily low-income units in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on property being ground leased from a local nonprofit organization. Negotiated complex matters related to the amendment of the ground lease and zoning and permitting issues to ensure development could be successfully constructed within local development regulations.

      • Representation of a national bank as construction lender providing a $17,000,000 loan to a national developer of affordable housing for the rehabilitation of a two building rental project containing 118 units in Lowell, Massachusetts. The project development financing included Federal Low Income Tax Credits through the construction lender’s equity division and the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency provided the permanent bond financing.

      • Representation of a national bank as construction and permanent lender regarding the Brownsville Station and Everett Stewart Jr. Village, a $100 million development of a transit-oriented affordable housing project on a former commuter parking lot in Miami, Florida. The development was financed with conventional loan proceeds, Federal Low Income Tax Credits, American Recovery and Redevelopment Act stimulus funds provided through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, and a subsidy loan from Miami-Dade County.
      • Represent the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) funding for two downtown apartment developments in the underwriting of low interest loans and equity investments, for 201 Ann Street and 287-91 Asylum Street in Hartford, Connecticut. 201 Ann Street is the conversion of an existing office building trust that will be 22 one bedroom market rate units at a total construction cost of $4.38 million and 287-91 Asylum Street is the conversion of an existing office building into a studio, one and two bedroom apartments at a cost of $1.7 million.

         
      • Represent one of Connecticut's prominent trusts whose focus is to end homelessness both in Connecticut and nationally. Our affordable housing attorneys have partnered with our tax attorneys to represent the trust entering into a partnership with a national developer to rehabilitate the trust's two buildings in Harford which contain 115 affordable housing units leased to formerly homeless residents.

         
      • Representation of a regional affordable housing developer in connection with the construction of 72 units of senior housing in three buildings in Brookfield, Connecticut, to be funded by a national construction lender, including federal low-income tax credits and funds from the Connecticut Competitive Housing Association for Multifamily Properties.

         
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    • News
      • July 12, 2023

        Robinson+Cole Represents WinnDevelopment in $85 Million Dollar Affordable Housing Project

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      • April 13, 2023

        Matt Lawlor Selected to Serve on Mayor Wu’s Advisory Committee on Affordable Housing

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        • View article
      • March 12, 2021

        New Real Estate Partner, Deirdre Robinson, Featured in Law360Pulse

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        • View article
      • March 8, 2021

        Robinson+Cole Continues Growth in Boston with Addition of Real Estate Partner Deirdre M. Robinson

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      • August 19, 2020

        Matt Lawlor Featured in Best Lawyers 2020 New England Article on Affordable Housing Shortage in Boston

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        • View article
      • June 5, 2015

        Robinson+Cole Is a Sponsor of NYSAFAH Conference

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      • April 17, 2015

        Robinson+Cole Represents National Bank in HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration Conversion Deals with Cambridge Housing Authority

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      • March 22, 2012

        Real Estate Partner Appointed to New York Trade Association Board

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      • October 28, 2011

        Finance Attorneys Discuss Dodd–Frank and SAFE Acts at Affordable Housing Conference

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      • May 25, 2011

        Real Estate Attorney Moderates Panel Discussion at New York State Association for Affordable Housing Annual Conference

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    • Publications + Presentations
    • "Affordable Housing Primer," presented by Kurt S. Stiegel, presented by Massachusetts Continue Legal Education (MCLE) (6/12/2023)
      • » more info

      "The Changing Regulatory Environment," at Housing 2011, the annual conference of the Connecticut Housing Coalition, presented by Norman H. Roos (10/19/2011)

      "Year 15 and Beyond," at New York State Association for Affordable Housing Annual Conference, presented by Andrew L. Kramer, Moderator (5/12/2011)

Our Team

Chairs

Members