The owners of a New York public housing project – among them, President Donald Trump – have reached an agreement to sell the property for $850 million, the New York Daily News reported.
The sale of the Starrett City buildings, which bring Trump about $5 million a year, will have to be approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, run by Trump appointee, Secretary Ben Carson.
The buildings – the nation’s largest subsidized housing project – are also located in HUD’s Region II, overseen by Eric Trump’s wedding planner Lynne Patton, who said in July she would recuse herself from any involvement with the development, of which Trump’s late father had owned a 16 percent stake, now divvied up between the president and his siblings.
Starratt City contains 5,881 apartments in nearly 50 buildings and will be sold for $850 million if the Trump administration approves the sale
The President, who owns a four percent stake in Starrett City, earned more than $5million from the complex last year
The President owns a 4 percent stake in the 5,880 home complex in Brooklyn, which could be sold to a new owner
The Brooklyn-based complex already made news this summer when residents had to be given fans because the air conditioning broke.
Soaring temperatures coincided with falling inspection scores, as the buildings were due to be inspected for the first time by the Trump administration, after the complex received a 70 for its most recent inspection last October.
This puts it in the bottom 15 percent of New York landlords receiving Section 8 funding.
A HUD score of 60 is considered unacceptable.
Instead of relying on the administration of an inspection, owners will now need the Trump admin’s blessing for the sale to go through, to ensure the 5,8881 units in 50 buildings remain affordable.
The building had previously almost been sold in 2009, but HUD refused to sign off on it.
The agency, along with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., argued that the price was too low and feared the new owner would raise prices on the tenants.
The federal government has subsidized the property in order to make units affordable for years, to the tune of $491 million from 2013 until May of this year, the New York Daily News reports.
The announcement of the deal noted that an earlier agreement requires that the property remain affordable housing until 2039.
That agreement was etched out after the previous sale was declined, as HUD had let the owners refinance instead.
Along with refinancing, the owners were supposed to update the apartments, however the Daily News found that they were receiving lower and lower marks.
In 2007, Starrett City received a score of 89 out of 100.
This dropped to 78 in 2009 and then to 70 last year.
Trump inherited an interest in the complex, which dates back to 1974, when his father Fred died in 1999.
Officials have said he plays no active role in the management, and his share was placed in a trust before his inauguration.
In the past, Carson has said he will ‘not play favorites’ with properties owned by the president and his family.
On Wednesday, Schumer vowed to continue ‘watching like a hawk to make sure any new owner follows every iota of that agreement,’ the Senate minority leader said.