$621 Million Loan Coming For Co-Op City In The Bronx
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Co-Op City in the Bronx, the nation's largest cooperative housing complex, was set Wednesday to receive a government-insured $621 million loan that will require it to stay in an affordable housing program for decades.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the agreement Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Co. is making the loan, and government entities are guaranteeing it.
The loan will pay for various maintenance and repair projects at the 44-year-old Bronx complex, which houses about 60,000 people.
The complex will pay off an existing, more expensive mortgage. It expects to save $150 million over 14 years.
Herbert Freedman, managing agent for Co-op City, said the new loan will let the complex do needed work without raising charges to owners.
Located in the Baychester section of the Bronx, Co-Op City sits on the former site of a short-lived history-themed amusement park called Freedom Land. The development of 35 high-rises and seven groups of townhouses was constructed between 1966 and 1973, and residents began moving in during December 1968.
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