Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation will acquire and renovate 283 apartments in six buildings in the northwest Bronx, thanks to a $23 million loan from the city’s new Acquisition Fund. It’s the first loan made through the $230 million initiative.

Commissioner Shaun Donovan of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced the loan on June 27 in front of 2825 Webb Ave., one of the apartment buildings acquired through the fund.

He was joined by representatives of the Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation (FBHC), Enterprise New York, and several banks and foundations that invested in the fund, which is a centerpiece of the mayor’s "New Housing Marketplace" plan to build or preserve 165,000 units of housing for 500,000 New Yorkers.

"The point is not just to fix up the buildings," Donovan said, "but also to make sure, over the next 10, 20 or 30 years that these buildings stay affordable."

Marisol Rodriguez, a mother of three who lives in 2825 Webb and runs a daycare center nearby, said she was relieved that the building will remain affordable, especially because it’s the nicest building she’s ever lived in.

"It’s very difficult to live in New York on my income and not have to step over cracked bottles and worry about who got shot," Rodriguez said. "And this is one neighborhood where you don’t have that."

The Acquisition Fund was created to help nonprofit developers compete with commercial developers, who can often move much faster to buy buildings because of the money and resources they have.

Donovan said the fund has become a model for other cities, like Chicago and Los Angeles, where officials want to create a similar resource.

The advantage the fund gives to nonprofit developers is timing, said Abby Jo Sigal, vice president of Enterprise New York, which is managing the fund.

"When people want to sell property, they want to sell it now," Sigal said. "What this fund does is enable you to close and then secure all the financing."

For FBHC, having resources makes a big difference in its ability to acquire buildings, said executive director John Reilly.

"We’ve been at a particular disadvantage since the prices have gone up so much," Reilly said. A lot of owners make money because the price of their property goes up, he said, but FBHC isn’t interested in selling or making a profit – Reilly plans to renovate the buildings while keeping them affordable for the long-term.

Douglas Sachs of Sachson Realty, the former owner of 2825 Webb and the other five buildings, said his family had owned some of the properties since 1936 and wanted to sell them to someone who would maintain them and keep the rents affordable. Sachs had worked with Fordham Bedford in the past and was pleased to see them take over the buildings.

The other buildings sold to Fordham Bedford are 200 E. Mosholu Parkway, 457 E. 187th St., 111 W. 183rd St., 1874 Loring Pl., and 2065 Davidson Ave.

There are four projects currently in the pipeline with financing from the Acquisition Fund, Sigal said. The $23 million loan to Fordham Bedford is the largest in Enterprise’s history and makes up 10 percent of the fund. The other projects underway are supportive housing developments linked to services (such as transitional housing for formerly homeless people).

The $230 million Acquisition Fund is made up of $8 million in city funding, $32.6 million from foundations, a $12.5 million challenge grant from the Starr Foundation (a New York-based nonprofit) and $190 million from banks and financial institutions.