Affordable Housing

Construction is underway at 575 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope; designed by Midtown-based Amie Gross Architects with consulting services from Steven Winter Associates, the affordable housing development is aiming for a Platinum LEED certification from USGBC. Developer the Fifth Avenue Committee broke ground on the project last August and expects an early 2010 occupancy for 49 residential units and 2000 square feet of ground-level commercial retail space. Each of the units is approximately 300 square feet and set aside for tenants earning less than 60 percent of AMI (around $30,000.00 annually). In terms of the retail space, the developer will give preference to local businesses. The 5-story, $8 million project (obviously) includes a number of green design features, including an efficient, gas-powered HVAC system and recycled-content structural materials. The development is at the corner of 5th Avenue and 16th Street and sits on the site of a former muncipal parking garage. Funding came, in part, from HUD's Supportive Housing Loan Program.

NDR Group recently completed construction on Garito Manor at Union Square . The 102-unit, $30 million facility will accommodate seniors over the age of 62 with lower incomes. While funding for the project came from many sources, NYSERDA provided a $399,000 grant for the project’s green features, which include five geothermal wells, energy efficient lighting, windows, and insulation, and locally-sourced materials. Perkins Eastman Architects designed the project with construction management services from Andon Construction Company . Garito Manor is seeking an unspecified level of LEED certification; for monthly rents ranging from $2200-$2800 residents will enjoy two daily meals, 24-hour security and concierge, housekeeping, and transportation services. The complex opened today for residents to begin moving in and is named for former New Rochelle mayor Frank Garito, who had pushed during his administration for the redevelopment of New Rochelle’s downtown historic district.

Developers Jonathan Rose of the Rose Companies and Gerard Lettire closed a couple of weeks ago on financing for the Tapestry, a 184-unit, affordable housing project 245 East 124th Street (at Second Avenue) in Harlem. The 12-story rental development will seek a LEED Silver rating from USGBC, meet the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria, and participate in NYSERDA's Multifamily Performance Program. Rose broke ground on the $65 million project yesterday and assembled financing from a dizzying number of sources- Enterprise tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, loans, and other grants. Half of the Tapestry's units will be set aside for low-income residents. Mr. Rose told the New York Times last week that, even in the midst of the credit crunch, financing is still out there for developers who "have a good track record, and financial strength, and the project has to be well thought-out." The Times makes the excellent point that there will never be enough affordable housing here in New York; local developers such as Mr.

We noted recently that Community Housing Innovations ("CHI") has broken ground on the $4.5 million, affordable, green Minerva Place Condominiums in White Plains, but wanted to formally present you with a few more details about the project. Minerva Place is one of the first low-rise new developments in Westchester County to satisfy the New York Energy $mart Multifamily Performance Program guidelines. The project includes a 350-foot-deep geothermal heating and cooling system, as well as efficient insulation and construction techniques that CHI anticipates will save residents up to 30 percent on energy costs. Minerva's energy-efficient features are being subsidized by a $55,000 grant from NYSERDA. The project was designed by Warshauer Mellusi Warshauer Architects and includes 11 two-bedroom (priced at $265,000) and 3 one-bedroom units ($225,000), each with hardwood floors and granite kitchen countertops.