The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) announced the closing of $10.8 million in construction financing with REO Holdings Carthage LLC for the gut renovation of the historic Tichner and Jacobi building located on the eastern bank of the Genesee River in downtown Rochester, N.Y. The mixed-use project will create 41 new rental units and two new commercial spaces on the first floor as well as surface-level parking. Eight of the rental units will be affordable for households earning at or below 60% of area median income.
“We are thrilled to be part of bringing a prominent, historically significant building back to life in downtown Rochester,” said Community Preservation Corporation Vice President and Mortgage Officer Miriam Zinter. “Investing in a community’s rejuvenation is core to our mission at CPC.”
Located at 143-153 St. Paul Street, the property is a six-story, brick, iron-faced, mixed-use building, originally constructed in 1884 for Tichner and Jacobi Tailors for their clothing manufacturing business and later purchased in 1934 by Henry Siebert Sons Inc. While the iconic structure has lain vacant for roughly a decade, the restoration of this “Flat Iron” style building will return it to the community as a hub of activity that will continue the revitalization of downtown Rochester.
“REO Holdings Carthage LLC is delighted to have partnered with The Community Preservation Corporation on this important project in Rochester,” said Tony Cilino, owner of REO Holdings Carthage LLC. “Our collaboration has been seamless and productive, and we greatly value CPC’s commitment to community development. We are very happy with our ongoing partnership and look forward to future opportunities to work together.”
The total development cost for the project is approximately $16 million. In addition to $10.8 million in construction financing, CPC also anticipates committing permanent financing in the amount of $7.1 million at conversion. Other financing sources include federal historic tax credit equity, state historic tax credit equity and Restore NY funding from Empire State Development. The project will benefit from a PILOT through the City of Rochester’s Conversion Urban Exemption (CUE) program which requires 20% of a project’s units to be affordable to households earning at or below 60% of area median income.
