City And Partners Celebrate Groundbreaking For Affordable, Supportive Housing In The Bronx
Photo credit: S:US
For Immediate Release:
October 25, 2019
Contact:
Alexis Geslani, S:US Marketing and Communications Director
[email protected]
Jerome Avenue Apartments will provide 175 new affordable homes for formerly homeless individuals and low-income families
Bronx, NY – Bronx Council Member Fernando Cabrera, the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) joined Services for the UnderServed (S:US), Bronx Pro Group LLC, Enterprise Community Partners (Enterprise), and community members to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony for Jerome Avenue Apartments, a new 175-unit supportive housing mixed-use building in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx. The 16-story, 144,000 sq. ft. apartment complex will create retail opportunities and provide affordable housing for formerly homeless individuals and families with supportive housing service needs.
“Today’s groundbreaking marks an important achievement,” said Council Member Fernando Cabrera. “More than 70% of the constituents that come to my district office need help with safe, decent housing they can afford. The lack of affordable housing, especially for those facing the additional challenges of having been homeless, having mental health or substance abuse, has been one of our most intractable challenges. But with Jerome Avenue Apartments, we are definitely turning the tables on this problem. With 105 supportive units, 69 affordable units, laundry and fitness room and solar panels, we are addressing both homelessness and climate change. I’m proud of the collaboration among HPD, HDC, HRA and other partners. Working together produces the results we need.”
The New York City 15/15 Supportive Housing Initiative will fund operation costs and rental subsidies for the 105 supportive units for extremely low-income households. S:US will provide counseling services, case management, and organized social activities to individuals and families in need. The remaining apartments will be affordable to low-income households, 20 of which will remain permanently affordable through to the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program.
In March 2018, the New York City Council approved the Jerome Avenue Neighborhood Plan, which outlines a $189 million investment in capital projects and neighborhood services for the community. Jerome Avenue Apartments is one of six affordable housing developments planned for the area.
Jerome Avenue Apartments will have solar panels and is being built to meet Enterprise Green Communities Criteria for reduced use of fossil fuels and superior indoor air quality for the residents. Amenities for tenants will include a laundry room, fitness room, 24-hour security, and 2,621 sq. ft. space for on-site social services and office spaces for S:US. The development will include a brand-new activated street front for pedestrians, 7,000 sq. ft. ground-floor retail space, and improved landscaping on 176th Street between Davidson and Jerome Avenues.
“Everyone deserves a home. The Jerome Avenue Apartments will be more than just a building — this development will bring hope, possibility, and opportunity to New Yorkers who have experienced homelessness, addiction, poverty, and mental health challenges,” said S:US CEO Donna Colonna. “Services for the UnderServed is proud to support 175 New Yorkers to get the home they deserve.”
“Jerome Avenue Apartments is a great opportunity to observe how city planning and public policy create good outcomes for New Yorkers,” said Samantha Magistro, Managing Director of New Business, Bronx Pro Group. “We are excited to be a part of this new chapter for the Jerome Corridor and grateful to HDC, HPD, HRA and DCP for making mixed-use, mixed-income affordable housing possible in the Bronx.”
Jerome Avenue Apartments is being financed through HDC’s Extremely Low-income and Low-income Affordability (ELLA) program with $45.7 million in tax-exempt bonds from HDC and $18 million from HPD’s Supportive Housing Loan Program (SHLP). Enterprise syndicated $34.7 million in equity through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and is contributing $3 million in Settlement Funds to support project costs. The supportive housing units will receive an HRA subsidy to fund social services and matching rental assistance from HPD to cover operating expenses.
“With the growing homelessness crisis in New York, it is critical now more than ever to provide affordable housing and supportive services to formerly homeless individuals,” said Judi Kende, Vice President and New York Market Leader, Enterprise. “Jerome Avenue Apartments will do just that, while also bolstering the broader Morris Heights community. We are proud to partner with S:US, Bronx Pro Group, HDC, HPD, HRA, and all of the partners to make this project happen.”
“Jerome Avenue Apartments will bring much needed affordable housing with onsite supportive services to the Bronx,” said HDC President Eric Enderlin. “Thanks to the collaborative work of government, nonprofit, and private sector partners, this development will soon offer a foundation of stability and hope to some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers.”
“We’re putting shovels in the ground to build life-changing opportunities for New York City families. Thanks to this administration’s substantial investments and crucial partnerships, Jerome Avenue Apartments will create 175 deeply affordable homes for families and individuals, including formerly homeless households with special needs,” said HPD Commissioner Louise Carroll. “I applaud our development partners for their ongoing work, and thank Council Member Cabrera and our colleagues in government for their support and dedication to create a more equitable New York City.”
“Every day, we’re connecting more New Yorkers experiencing homelessness or facing housing instability to the essential lifeline that a supportive housing placement provides,” said Grace Bonilla, Administrator for the NYC Human Resources Administration. “We are proud to partner with S:US, the private sector and other sister agencies on this project as we continue providing vital resources to help our neighbors get back on their feet through the City’s unprecedented NYC 15/15 initiative.”
“Across the country, the need for affordable housing continues to grow,” said Matthew Schatz, vice president at TD Bank. “TD Bank is proud to provide financing for this important development which will offer safe housing for one of our most vulnerable populations while adding more affordable housing options for the Bronx community.”
The site is a joint venture between S:US and Bronx Pro Group. Jerome Housing Development Fund Corporation is the owner of the property. Marvel Architects is the architect for the project. Construction for the project is expected to be completed by late 2021/early 2022.
###
About New York City Housing Development Corporation (NYC HDC)
The New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) is the nation’s largest municipal Housing Finance Agency and is charged with helping to finance the creation or preservation of affordable housing under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York plan. Since 2003, HDC has financed more than 180,000 housing units using over $23.5 billion in bonds and other debt obligations, and provided in excess of $2.9 billion in subsidy. HDC ranks among the nation’s top issuers of mortgage revenue bonds for affordable multi-family housing on Thomson Reuter’s annual list of multi-family bond issuers. In each of the last seven consecutive years, HDC’s annual bond issuance has surpassed $1 billion. For additional information, visit: http://www.nychdc.com.
About New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (NYC HPD)
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the nation’s largest municipal housing preservation and development agency. Its mission is to promote quality housing and diverse, thriving neighborhoods for New Yorkers through loan and development programs for new affordable housing, preservation of the affordability of the existing housing stock, enforcement of housing quality standards, and educational programs for tenants and building owners. HPD is tasked with fulfilling Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York Plan which was recently expanded and accelerated through Housing New York 2.0 to complete the initial goal of 200,000 homes two years ahead of schedule—by 2022, and achieve an additional 100,000 homes over the following four years, for a total of 300,000 homes by 2026. For full details visit www.nyc.gov/hpd and for regular updates on HPD news and services, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @NYCHousing.
About New York City Human Resources Administration (NYC HRA)
The New York City Human Resources Administration/Department of Social Services (HRA/DSS) is dedicated to fighting poverty and income inequality by providing New Yorkers in need with essential benefits such as Food Assistance and Emergency Rental Assistance. As the largest local social services agency in the country, HRA helps over 3 million New Yorkers through the administration of more than 12 major public assistance programs, with more than 14,000 employees and an operating budget of $9.7 billion.
About Services for the UnderServed
Services for the UnderServed (S:US) drives scalable solutions to transform the lives of people with disabilities, people in poverty, and people facing homelessness: solutions that contribute to righting societal imbalances. Founded in 1978, S:US works with 35,000 individuals and their families every year to create pathways to rich and productive lives by offering housing, employment, skills-building, treatment, and rehabilitation services. For more information, visit sus.org.
About Bronx Pro Group
Bronx Pro Group is a neighborhood-based firm that employs approximately 100 professional and support staff engaged in real estate development, construction, property management, and residential services. The company began as a property manager in 1988 and in 1998 it expanded its business activities to include the development of low and moderate-income housing. Beginning first with the rehabilitation of occupied, city-owned buildings, the company has since broadened its scope to include the development of new construction projects that contain both residential and commercial / community facility spaces. To date, Bronx Pro has developed over 2,200 units through various City and State programs. The subject property is adjacent to Bronx Pro’s Davidson Avenue Cluster, which includes 185 units of moderate income housing developed through HPD’s Third Party Transfer Program.
About Enterprise
Enterprise works with partners nationwide to build opportunity. We bring together the nationwide know-how, partners, policy leadership and investments to multiply the impact of local affordable housing development. Over more than 35 years, Enterprise has created nearly 585,000 homes, invested $43.6 billion and touched millions of lives. Join us at www.EnterpriseCommunity.org.
About TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®
TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 9 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,200 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth®, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.td.com/us. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US. TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol “TD”. To learn more, visit www.td.com/us.