Late last week the city signed a $135 million deal with one developer and two financiers to renovate more than 500 affordable apartments in Harlem, while keeping city-imposed agreements for the units in place for 40 more years. DNAinfo reports that the apartments are spread over five different apartment complexes: Gladys Hampton Houses, at 2411 Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 400 St. Nicholas Avenue; New West I and II at 8-56 West 111th Street; and Riverside I and II, at 602-622 West 135th Street. That’s 549 units over 18 buildings total.
The deal was signed with two companies who financed the deal, Bellwether Enterprise and Enterprise Community Investment Inc., as well as the developer, Tahl Propp Equities. (Bellwether Enterprise provided $62 million in construction financing, while Enterprise Community Investment put up $36 million in tax credits for low-income housing, according to DNAinfo.) The developers plan to replace building roofs as well as supply new windows and boilers. Common areas will be renovated, and apartments will get new kitchen cabinets, appliances, flooring, and bathroom fixtures. Federal government subsidies will help fast-track all renovations.
These buildings have federal Section 8 subsidies, and they’ll be in place for another 40 years to help keep units affordable. When apartments became vacant, they’ll be set aside for homeless individuals and families. This is another part of a major initiative by Mayor de Blasio to create or preserve 200,000 affordable housing units over a decade. Last we checked, the administration was ahead of schedule in its affordable housing goals.
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