Public Hearing - Elmwood Square Apartments
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
ON PROPOSED PROJECT
AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
RELATING THERETO
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing (the “Public Hearing”) pursuant to Section 859-a(2) of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York (the “Act”) and Section 147(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), will be conducted electronically by Erie County Industrial Development Agency (the “Issuer”) on the 18th day of September, 2020 at 9:00 o’clock a.m., local time, in connection with the Project (as defined herein). Please note the special public hearing logistics and instructions included at the end of this notice related to the COVID-19 public health crisis.
Related Affordable, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and a New York limited partnership to be formed, on behalf of themselves and/or an entity or entities formed or to be formed on behalf of the foregoing (collectively, the “Company”), submitted an application (the “Application”) to the Issuer, a copy of which Application is on file at the office of the Issuer, which Application requested that the Issuer consider undertaking a project (the “Project”) for the benefit of the Company, said Project consisting of the following: (A) (1) the acquisition of an interest in a portion of approximately 0.99 acres of land located at 501 Elmwood Avenue in the City of Buffalo, Erie County, New York (the “Land”), (2) the acquisition, reconstruction and renovation of an existing 12-story tower consisting of 138 apartment units and containing approximately 107,000 square feet in the aggregate known as the Elmwood Square Apartments located on the Land (the “Facility”) and (3) the acquisition and installation therein and thereon of related fixtures, machinery, equipment and other personal property (the “Equipment”) (the Land, the Facility and the Equipment being collectively referred to hereinafter as the “Project Facility”), all of the foregoing to constitute a low-income housing facility to be operated by the Company and leased to residential tenants, together with incidental and related commercial space leased to various commercial entities, and any other directly and indirectly related activities; (B) the financing of all or a portion of the costs of the foregoing by the issuance of taxable and/or tax-exempt revenue bonds of the Issuer in one or more issues or series in an aggregate principal amount sufficient to pay the cost of undertaking the Project, together with necessary incidental costs in connection therewith, in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $9,000,000 (the “Obligations”); (C) the payment of a portion of the costs incidental to the issuance of the Obligations, including issuance costs of the Obligations and any reserve funds as may be necessary to secure the Obligations; (D) the granting of certain other “financial assistance” (within the meaning of Section 854(14) of the Act) with respect to the foregoing, including exemption from certain sales taxes, deed transfer taxes and mortgage recording taxes (collectively with the Obligations, the “Financial Assistance”); and (E) the lease (with an obligation to purchase) or sale of the Project Facility to the Company or such other person as may be designated by the Company and agreed upon by the Issuer.
The Issuer is considering whether (A) to undertake the Project, (B) to finance the Project by issuing, from time to time, the Obligations, (C) to use the proceeds of the Obligations to pay the cost of undertaking the Project, together with necessary incidental costs in connection therewith, and (D) to provide certain exemptions from taxation with respect to the Project, including (1) exemption from mortgage recording taxes with respect to any documents, if any, recorded by the Issuer with respect to the Project in the office of the County Clerk of Erie County, New York or elsewhere, (2) exemption from deed transfer taxes on any real estate transfers, if any, with respect to the Project and (3) exemption from sales taxes relating to the acquisition, reconstruction, renovation and installation of the Project Facility. If any portion of the Financial Assistance to be granted by the Issuer with respect to the Project is not consistent with the Issuer’s uniform tax exemption policy, the Issuer will follow the procedures for deviation from such policy set forth in Section 874(4) of the Act prior to granting such portion of the Financial Assistance.
If the issuance of the Obligations is approved, with respect to any portion of the Obligations intended to be issued as federally tax-exempt obligations, the interest on such portion of the Obligations will not be excludable from gross income for federal income tax purposes unless (A) pursuant to Section 147(f) of the Code and the regulations of the United States Treasury Department thereunder, the issuance of the Obligations is approved by the County Executive of Erie County, New York (the “County Executive”) after the Issuer has held a public hearing on the nature and location of the Project Facility and the issuance of the Obligations; and (B) pursuant to Section 142(a)(7) of the Code, at least ninety-five percent (95%) of the net proceeds of the Obligations are used to provide a “qualified residential rental project” within the meaning of such quoted term in Section 142(d) of the Code.
If the Issuer determines to proceed with the Project and the issuance of the Obligations, (A) the Project Facility will be acquired, reconstructed, renovated and installed by the Issuer and will be leased (with an obligation to purchase) or sold by the Issuer to the Company or its designee pursuant to a project agreement (the “Agreement”) requiring that the Company or its designee make payments equal to debt service on the Obligations and make certain other payments and (B) the Obligations will be a special obligation of the Issuer payable solely out of certain of the proceeds of the Agreement and certain other assets of the Issuer pledged to the repayment of the Obligations. THE OBLIGATIONS SHALL NOT BE A DEBT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK OR ERIE COUNTY, NEW YORK, AND NEITHER THE STATE OF NEW YORK NOR ERIE COUNTY, NEW YORK SHALL BE LIABLE THEREON.
The Issuer has not yet made a determination pursuant to Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law (the “SEQR Act”) regarding the potential environmental impact of the Project.
The Issuer will at said time and place hear all persons with views on the location and nature of the proposed Project Facility, the financial assistance being contemplated by the Issuer in connection with the proposed Project or the proposed plan of financing the proposed Project by the issuance from time to time of the Obligations. A copy of the Application filed by the Company with the Issuer with respect to the Project, including an analysis of the costs and benefits of the Project, is available for public inspection during business hours at the offices of the Issuer. A transcript or summary report of the hearing will be made available to the members of the board of directors of the Issuer and to the County Executive. If the Issuer determines to issue any portion of the Obligations as federally tax-exempt obligations, approval of the issuance of such portion of the Obligations by Erie County, New York, acting through its elected County Executive, is necessary in order for the interest on such portion of the Obligations to qualify for exemption from federal income taxation.
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING SPECIAL PUBLIC HEARING CONDUCT INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION RELATED TO THE COVID-19 PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS:
As a result of the ban on large meetings or gatherings pursuant to Executive Order 202.1 and the suspension of the Open Meetings Law relating to public hearings pursuant to Executive Order 202.15, each as issued by Governor Cuomo and as supplemented by subsequent Executive Orders issued by Governor Cuomo, and Revenue Procedure 2020-21 issued by the Internal Revenue Service on May 4, 2020, all in response to the on-going Coronavirus (COVID-19) health crisis, the Issuer will livestream the Public Hearing for those wanting to listen only at https://www.ecidany.com/streaming.
The Issuer will provide public access to provide oral comments during the Public Hearing at https://www.ecidany.com/public-comment-and-registration. If you would like to make oral comments at the Public Hearing, please register to do so no later than 12:00 o’clock p.m. on September 17, 2020. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the call to provide oral comments. Finally, the Issuer also encourages all interested parties to submit written comments to the Issuer, which will all be included within the public hearing record. Any written comments may be submitted to the Issuer’s website at www.ecidany.com, or mailed to the Issuer at 95 Perry Street – Suite 403, Buffalo, New York 14203, until the comment period closes at 4:00 p.m. on September 22, 2020.
