WHGA Borrows $42.3M From Santander for Harlem Cluster Rehab
The loan lands on a city owned Harlem block where the nonprofit developer has been planning a 96 unit gut renovation.
A $42.3M mortgage recorded this week against a Harlem block names a borrower, WHGA 128-129 Street LLC, that most readers will not recognize on sight. See more financing activity on The American Developer’s New York desk.
Why it matters
The entity traces to West Harlem Group Assistance, a Harlem based community development corporation that has spent years assembling city owned parcels along 128th and 129th Streets for a gut renovation rather than new construction. The loan is the financing event, not a sale or a groundbreaking, and it lands on land New York City’s own housing agency still owns.
The numbers
Santander Bank, N.A. is the lender on a mortgage of $42,276,862, recorded October 23, 2026 with a document date of October 15, 2026, under CRFN 2026000302521 and ACRIS doc_id 2026101900843010. The collateral includes Manhattan block 1968, lot 37, which city property records list as 411 West 128th Street: a five story, 30 unit residential building built in 1920 and last altered in 1986, owned by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. West Harlem Group Assistance told a City Council subcommittee in March 2025 that the broader cluster spans 96 units, split between 38 reserved for existing residents and 58 for first time homebuyers, and that it expected to close with Webster Bank as construction lender that summer. The mortgage recorded this week shows Santander in that lender seat instead, on a site that has clearly moved past its original timeline.
What’s next
For a nonprofit developer working city owned land, a mortgage this size typically funds the gut renovation itself rather than site acquisition, since HPD retains ownership of the underlying parcels. Operators watching Harlem’s affordable pipeline should expect construction activity on 128th and 129th Streets to follow, and should treat the lender switch from Webster to Santander as a reminder that financing commitments on these multi year community development deals shift before a shovel goes in the ground.
On the record
Primary record
- Public recordACRIS live record resolves the borrower, WHGA 128-129 Street LLC, to Santander Bank, N.A. on a $42,276,862 mortgage recorded 2026-10-23 (doc date 2026-10-15), doc_id 2026101900843010, CRFN 2026000302521, against Manhattan block 1968, lot 37.View the record on a836-acris.nyc.gov
- Public recordPLUTO shows block 1968, lot 37 at 411 West 128th Street is owned by NYC Housing Preservation and Development, a five story, 30 unit residential building from 1920 last altered in 1986, consistent with the HPD sponsored cluster West Harlem Group Assistance described to the City Council.View the record on data.cityofnewyork.us
Also reported by
- NYC Council, Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings and DispositionsWest Harlem Group Assistance Inc. Overview and Project Specifics