CM Caban questions HPD on Our Home program and COPA financing options

Thank you, Chair.

Hi.

I just have a few questions focused on financing.

The block-by-block plan, it mentions a new program called Our Home that's supposed to facilitate the conversion of rental buildings into resident-controlled cooperatives.

And so, I mean, to start, I just want to know what would be eligible for the Our Home program and would a qualified preservation buyer be able to purchase a COPA-eligible building with Our Home funding?

And if so, then how would that work?

Yeah.

So the program is right now intended for, I guess I would say, two categories of buildings.

So those would be privately owned, typically rent-stabilized buildings.

We're looking at projects that are probably somewhere between 10 and 40 units as like the kind of sweet spot that we haven't put a hard line on that.

So rent-stabilized buildings where they wanted to go through a conversion and become owners is one categorical.

And then I would say even within our own portfolio of rental buildings that are of that size, we would certainly entertain a conversion using our home.

What was the second part of your question?

Oh, that would a qualified preservation buyer be able to purchase through COPA?

Yes.

Though I do want to say, just years ago I worked for a nonprofit called YouHave, and one of the great lessons there is it is very challenging to go through a conversion from rental to collective ownership while there is physical distress, particularly deep physical distress.

So one of the things we would likely advocate for as the COPA buildings were to come through, because they are by definition going to be distressed, that they work with a sponsor in the first instance to

help them get through stabilization, renovation, and then a conversion could come on the back end of that.

Okay, that makes sense.

Will the new program provide acquisition funding, rehab funding, a combination of both?

It's for both.

It will both be for the acquisition and then the renovation of the building where that's necessary, when it's necessary.

And would they be able to use this and another program, for example, like Neighborhood Pillars?

Would Neighborhood Pillars be a place where there could be acquisition and renovation to a COPA-eligible building?

Yes.

Pillars is not intended necessarily for conversion to collective ownership.

So, right, we both could be tools for financing the acquisitions that may...

Materialized through COPA as well as other programs including our participating loan program.

Again, we could use Article 11 potentially as a standalone source depending on the depth of physical distress in the building.

So I think all of the tools that we have for acquisition and rehab will be made available as part of the COPA financing tools.

It will come down, as I said,

earlier to timing and just the availability of the resources, but we do expect to use all of the tools in our toolbox.

Okay.

One more.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, guys.

Oh, within the time limit.

Thank you, Councilmember Kavanaugh.

Councilmember Riley.