Multi-Housing News
by IvyLee Rosario
March 29, 2017
The buildings will be designed with sustainability in mind, aiming for a certified Enterprise Green Communities and EPA ENERGY STAR rating to keep utility costs low and reduce the building’s environmental impact.
New York—Habitat for Humanity New York City acquired land at the intersections of Park Place, Thomas S. Boyland Street and East New York Avenue in the Brownville neighborhood of Brooklyn, for a new $11 million, three-building affordable development dubbed SEED. Latent Productions is co-developer, while New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and Community Preservation Corp. (CPC) all provided funding for the acquisition. Financing was provided by HPD’s New Infill Homeownership Opportunities Program.
“Affordable homeownership can play a central role in revitalizing under-served communities,” said Rafael Cestero, president & CEO of CPC. “It can help foster stability within the community, and provides an opportunity for the homeowners to put down roots, build equity and add to the culture and diversity of the neighborhood.”
The 25-unit community will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans. The buildings will be designed with sustainability in mind, aiming for a certified Enterprise Green Communities and EPA ENERGY STAR rating to keep utility costs low and reduce the building’s environmental impact. Residents will have access to amenities such as a common yard that will connect all three buildings, shared laundry and communal spaces, storage and bicycle parking.
CPC and Goldman Sachs are providing a $2.9 million construction loan and CPC is providing an additional $3.2 million grant supporting the affordability of the project. SEED will be Habitat NYC’s second largest development ever.
“Providing hard-working families with the opportunity to own their own home in New York City helps them achieve the stability that home ownership provides. Not only that, but they can become stakeholders within their own neighborhoods,” said Karen Haycox, CEO of Habitat NYC. “Arguably, New York City is an environment unlike any other tackled by Habitat for Humanity around the globe. Here, we face unique obstacles, but we believe wholeheartedly that homeownership must have a place in the affordable housing plans for New York City.”