NYC Creates $10M Fund for Women and Minority Developers

New York City’s Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has set up a $10 million fund designed to help women- and minority-owned developers finance the construction of small commercial or mixed-use projects. NYCEDC is partnering with Basis Management Group, a minority and woman-owned commercial real estate finance firm, on the launch of the fund, which will finance land acquisition and pre-development costs including security deposits or environmental assessments.

"The Emerging Developer Loan Fund will help level the playing field for New York City’s burgeoning development firms by addressing what has historically been a real barrier to entry for these types of firms—affordable financing," NYCEDC president Maria Torres-Springer said.

But despite the city’s ongoing problems regarding affordable housing, the fund will not finance any project that is 100 percent residential.