Community Preservation Partners (CPP), a mission-driven affordable housing preservation developer, today announced its acquisition of Methodist Towers in Erie, a 13-floor high-rise affordable housing complex comprising of 138 senior units (55+), 57 of which receive subsidy under a Section-8 HAP contract. The renovation will be a tenant in-place rehabilitation with minimal displacement for residents. CPP received an issuance of tax-exempt bonds and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs) from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) with construction and permanent loans from Citibank as well as equity raised from the sale of LIHTCs from PNC Bank, N.A. to finance the property acquisition and rehabilitation. The affordability commitments and investment made in Methodist Towers will preserve its affordable housing designation for future decades.
“CPP is excited to partner with Rochester’s Cornerstone Group on another exciting Preservation project. We are planning a meaningful rehab that will make current and future residents proud to call Methodist Towers home,” said Seth Gellis, senior vice president at CPP. “With this project, CPP will deepen and lengthen the affordability of the property including to those making no more than 20%, 50% and 60% of AMI.”
Methodist Towers is in the heart of downtown Erie, within view of the Lake Erie waterfront and surrounded by Gannon University, as well as several medical centers including The University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Hamot campus.
“While the property was built and lovingly maintained by the First Methodist Church of Erie, it suffered from severe deferred maintenance,” said John Fraser, director of development at CPP. “Major building systems require upgrading and replacement, including the roof, elevators and HVAC equipment. The property was built in 1973, has never been through a meaningful rehab, and as such, unit and common area finishes need upgrades and modernization.”
CPP will invest more than $20 million to acquire and rehabilitate the complex, with renovations to include accessibility upgrades, parking lot repair, decking and railing replacement of the community sundeck, flooring upgrades, an outdoor dog run, new maintenance shed and improvements to the community, dining, music, and billiards rooms. For the units, enhancements will feature new unit entry doors, kitchen cabinets, vanity cabinets, quartz countertops in kitchens and bathrooms, paint, toilets, energy-efficient appliances, window blinds, sinks, faucets, and other items. CPP’s service coordinator will provide adult education programs including smoking cessation, computer training, tax preparation guidance, English classes, educational workshops, fraud prevention classes, literacy programs, health and wellness, financial literacy, socials, exercise, art and COVID education.
About Community Preservation Partners
Since its founding in 2004, Community Preservation Partners (CPP), an affordable housing rehabilitation company, has invested more than $2.6 billion into neighborhoods across the United States, keeping housing costs affordable for thousands of seniors, families and individuals. Having developed more than 12,500 low-income housing units, and positively changing the lives of thousands of low-income residents, the award-winning firm continues to expand nationally with headquarters in Irvine, California and Reston, Virginia. With its creative mindset and unwavering vision, CPP Housing proposes big, bold and better solutions that build community and serve the greater good. Creativity. Performance. Purpose. A different way to home. For more information, visit www.cpp-housing.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
