New Rochelle IDA approves 15-year pilot extension for 550 Fifth Avenue affordable-housing rehab

On Feb. 4, 2025, the New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a pilot agreement, mortgage-recording-tax exemption and sales-tax exemption for 550 Fifth Avenue Owner LP, the owner of Parkside Place, an 80-unit affordable apartment complex in New Rochelle.

Parkside Place operates under a Section 42 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) regulatory agreement. The developer proposes roughly $7 million in capital improvements — including HVAC, energy-efficiency upgrades, kitchens and bathrooms, and common-space work — and requested a 15-year extension of the current pilot payment schedule that otherwise expires in March 2025. The contract package also seeks exemptions from mortgage recording tax and sales tax on eligible project purchases.

Grow America financial consultant Kevin Grooms, who reviewed the applicant’s pro forma, told the board the package would support refinancing and additional equity investment needed to cover the upgrades. He summarized the IDA assistance as roughly $4.7 million in tax savings and exemptions against a total development cost of about $25 million, and said the IDA assistance would represent…