The Blake Hendrix development will create 30 new homes for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers to Brooklyn
NEW YORK, NY – The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), New York City Council Member Inez D. Barron, Shelter Rock Builders, the Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), and Goldman Sachs today announced the groundbreaking for the Blake Hendrix development in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. The project, which is being developed by Shelter Rock Builders will create 13 new homeownership opportunities and 17 new affordable rental units for low- and moderate-income households, is being financed through HPD’s New Infill Homeownership Opportunities Program (NIHOP).
This is the latest cluster of homes to be built through NIHOP, which the HPD uses to transform formerly underutilized City-owned land into affordable homes for the workforce community. The groundbreaking marks the start of construction of the four three-family homes and nine two-family homes that will be built across the sites.
“Homeownership offers a real sense of security to families, and a foundation for building a better life for their children and their community. Through HPD’s NIHOP program, we are harnessing the dwindling supply of City-owned land to create affordable homes for New Yorkers struggling to stay in the city in the face of rising rents. The 30 new homes underway at the Blake Hendrix development in East New York will put the dream of homeownership in reach of more hard-working New Yorkers, anchoring not just individual families, but the neighborhood,” said HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. “I thank Council Member Barron for her unwavering support of affordable homeownership and our development partners for their hard work on this important project.”
“The Blake-Hendrix NIHOP has transformed vacant and blighted city owned lots in the East New York area into nine two and three family homes. I am so pleased that there will be affordable home ownership opportunities for working class families. Home ownership can be a pathway to the long term economic uplifting of one’s self, family and community. Historically, home ownership has been the most successful way for Black families to establish wealth, which can be transferred to future generations. Overall, the project will provide thirty units of housing including rentals for low income persons, in a city where affordable housing is desperately needed,” said Council Member Inez Barron.
“Shelter Rock Builders is excited to break ground on the upcoming Blake-Hendrix development in East New York. SRB first invested in East New York fifteen years ago. Since that time, we have seen firsthand how affordable homeownership has transformed the lives of both families and this community. We are proud to be a part of this promising investment in the East New York community,” said Ben Shavolian, President of Shelter Rock Builders. “We thank NYC’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development as well as co-developer Cyrous Akhavan of Sun Rock LLC for their partnership and look forward to working together on this impactful project.”
“Investing in affordable homeownership is an investment in the future of communities and the families that will call them home. The opportunity to own a home, build equity and put down roots not only benefits the new homeowners, it helps to strengthen and stabilize the neighborhood,” said Danny Wheeler, Vice President & Deputy Director of NYC Originations at CPC. “My thanks to Shelter Rock Builders, to our lending partners at Goldman Sachs, to HPD, and to Councilwoman Inez Barron for her support and dedication to bringing affordable housing to the East New York community.”
“Supporting asset building, including through home ownership, is a fundamental part of building better neighborhoods, which is a central goal of our team’s comprehensive community development investing,” said Yarojin Robinson, Vice President in the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group. “We are excited to continue our partnership with CPC to create opportunities for affordable homeownership through this project and the City’s NIHOP program, and look forward to continuing to see accelerated progress and increased opportunities for New Yorkers in East New York”
HPD announced the third and final round of designations for NIHOP projects in February, where the City announced successful respondents to the NIHOP/NCP RFQ, which sought to encourage capacity development with smaller developers and nonprofits.
The total development cost for the project is $12.8 million. The project received $6 million in City subsidy and $1.1 million from the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (ACH).
CPC and Goldman Sachs will provide a $3.35 million construction loan through a joint funding partnership that was created to help finance affordable homeownership projects in New York City. As the demand for affordable housing and homeownership in New York City continues to grow, the lending facility provides a critical source of flexible financing aimed at serving the unique affordable housing and revitalization needs of underserved communities.
The Blake Hendrix development is expected to be completed in the winter of 2019. Applications will be available for prospective homebuyers and affordable rental units via lottery process in the summer of 2019.
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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.
The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC)
Established in 1974, CPC is a nonprofit affordable housing and community revitalization finance company that believes housing is central to transforming underserved neighborhoods into thriving and vibrant communities. The company provides a full suite of capital products through its construction lending, permanent lending, and equity investing platforms. Since inception, CPC has leveraged approximately $10 billion in private and public investment to finance more than 185,000 units of multifamily housing. CPC’s work with its partners has helped revitalize countless neighborhoods and provided quality housing for families, senior citizens, and individuals with disabilities. Visit CPC at communityp.com, and on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.