In 2018, LISC NYC, in partnership with NYC HPD and the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit, supported the creation of NYLOP. The program aimed to identify mission-driven organizations with property, but little real estate experience, and connect them to developers in hopes of creating affordable housing. Five churches received technical assistance as part of the NYLOP’s inaugural cohort; this included pro-bono architectural, legal, and financial modeling assistance to evaluate their property, create development scenarios, and identify development partners through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process. The five congregations in NYLOP’s cohort were: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the Bronx, Shiloh Church of Christ in Manhattan, Wakefield Grace United Methodist Church in the Bronx, St. John’s Global Ministries in Queens, and The Community Church of New York Unitarian Universalists in Manhattan. All issued RFPs and three congregations have been able to partner with developers; their shared goal is to construct 100 percent affordable housing. 1
NYLOP was launched with financial support from foundations and multiple banks. Goldstein Hall and Edelman Sultan Knox Wood/Architects served as technical assistance partners for NYLOP participants.
Stakeholders: Local Initiative Support Corporation - New York City (LISC NYC), Mayor of New York’s Community Affairs Unit, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (NYC HPD)
Image source: (1) Metro US (2) Daily News (3) LISC
