A former high school is on its way to becoming affordable housing for seniors in Holley, N.Y.
The project recently took a step forward with KeyBank Community Development Lending & Investment (CDLI) providing nearly $22 million in total financing to Home Leasing for the historic preservation project. KeyBank provided a $9.9 million construction loan, plus $6.8 million in low-income housing tax credit equity and $5.1 million in historic tax credit equity.
Holley Gardens is an adaptive-reuse project that will preserve the former Holley High School and transform it into a mixed-use and mixed-income property with 41 units of housing for low- to moderate-income seniors. There is also 6,080 square feet of planned commercial space leased to the village of Holley. The community is located within steps of the local library, restaurants, and services.
Officials recently held a celebration to kick off the project.
“KeyBank is proud to partner with Home Leasing and Edgemere Development to preserve and transform Holley High School into this mixed-use space,” said Rob Likes, national manager of the CDLI team. “Importantly, the preservation celebration today demonstrates our commitment to making safe and decent affordable housing available in the communities we serve.”
Rochester, N.Y.–based Home Leasing specializes in the development, construction, and management of apartment communities.
“Our mission at Home Leasing is to improve the lives of residents in the communities in which we work,” said Nelson Leenhouts, chairman and CEO of the firm. “KeyBank’s partnership, along with broad community support, will establish Holley Gardens as a welcoming, thriving senior community in the heart of the village of Holley.”
The development will feature studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments targeting seniors at rent levels at or below 30%, 50%, 60%, and 80% of the area median income. Seven of the units will be available for households where at least one member is a person with a physical disability who will have access to supportive services through the Orleans County Office on Aging.
Jaime Tuozzolo and Ryan Olman, both vice presidents and senior relationship managers on the CDLI team, worked on the financing.
New York State Homes and Community Renewal provided a $3.1 million Housing Trust Fund loan, a $1 million Community Investment Fund loan, and $668,515 in annual tax credits to support the Holley Gardens project. New York State Empire State Development provided a $1 million RestoreNY grant.