City & State officials celebrated the opening of a new, 80-unit affordable and supportive housing building in Brownsville located at 331 Saratoga Avenue. The SLCE Architects-designed building stands five stories tall, and work on the project was completed over a two-year period between June 2014 and April 2016.
Now known as the Bergen Saratoga Apartments, the project was developed by the Dunn Development Corporation, which does a lot of work with affordable housing projects. Of the building’s 80 apartments, 40 one and two-bedroom units were awarded through an affordable housing lottery to families earning between $25,000 and $52,000 annually — half of those were reserved exclusively for Brownsville residents. The other 40 apartments, all studios, have been set aside for formerly homeless people, and CAMBA, Inc, a local non-profit will provide on-site support services.
The project is also a partnership between the city and the state. The formerly vacant land this building is on was provided by the city, and the state offered the developers low-income tax credits along with private bank loans and equity investments.
Amenities in this energy-efficient building include a computer room and a library, a landscaped backyard with gardening spots for tenants, a children’s play area, and a community room with a kitchen. The building is fully occupied at present.