N.Y. Housing Charity Opens For-Profit Mortgage Arm
March 9, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute
A prominent nonprofit group that has worked for decades to build affordable housing for low- and middle-income New Yorkers has opened a commercial banking office to help some buyers secure home loans, The Wall Street Journal writes.
The Housing Partnership, founded three decade ago by the wealthy banker David Rockefeller, is branching out to write loans and expand credit availability, particularly for would-be residents of subsidized housing.
Dan Martin, the partnership’s president, said the move is the “next logical step” for the organization as federal funding declines for building new affordable homes. The group plans to provide about 200 loans in its first year.
The mortgage operation occupies space at the partnership’s Manhattan headquarters, but to meet Internal Revenue Service rules on maintaining a clear division between nonprofit and commercial activities it is separated from the charity’s offices by glass walls and a locked door.
