Non-profit housing developer Breaking Ground has announced it
is moving ahead with its plan to turn a former Jehovah’s Witnesses hotel in
DUMBO into affordable and supportive housing.
90 Sands was previously a residential hotel operated by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society until August 2017.
Breaking Ground purchased the hotel in August 2018 for $170
million with a financing package that included $2 million from the New York
City Council, a $155 million loan from
the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and a
$10 million grant from Enterprise
Community Partners, Inc.
Breaking Ground provided a $6.7 million sponsor loan to
finance acquisition and pre-construction costs. The Leviticus Fund also
provided $1.5 million in pre-construction financing.
In April of this year Breaking Ground obtained a zoning
change for the project after an approval pursuant to the City’s land use review
procedure.
The renovation and repositioning of the building as
supportive and affordable housing will be financed by 501c3 and taxable bonds
totaling more than $70.4 million issued by the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC).
HDC provided an additional $6 million in capital subsidy.
JPMorgan Chase is providing a construction letter of credit.
Nixon Peabody provided counsel on the acquisition and
construction financings. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and Holland & Knight
provided counsel on land use matters.
Monadnock Construction, Inc. is the general contractor and
Beyer Blinder Belle is the project architect. Construction completion is
expected in the first quarter of 2022.
With the closing of the building’s construction loan, the
renovation will break ground this month.
90 Sands is an important marker in Breaking Ground’s
history. The nonprofit launched 30 years ago, in 1990, focused on transforming
old hotels in Manhattan into supportive housing, giving the city’s homeless a
way to get off the streets and have a place to call home.
Brenda Rosen, president and CEO of Breaking Ground, said, “At
90 Sands, we return to our roots and further our mission to enable people to
forever escape the trauma of homelessness. With the construction closing for 90 Sands, we are on
our way to bringing 491 much-needed affordable units to DUMBO, one of the most expensive
neighborhoods in the city.”
The Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS) will provide
onsite social services to residents of 90
Sands.
Of the 491 apartments, 185 will be affordable to a wide
range of New Yorkers, from extremely low-income to moderate-income households.
305 units will be home to formerly homeless individuals. One unit will be for
an onsite building superintendent. Half of the units (246) will be permanently
affordable, and the balance will be affordable under a 60-year regulatory
agreement.
The 30-story building will feature a 24-hour attended lobby,
security camera system throughout,
multipurpose room for community events and meetings, a digital library,
a fitness room, and reimagined plaza space for public use at the corner of
Sands and Jay Streets.
Breaking Ground seeks to bring in community-serving uses to
occupy more than 28,000 square feet of community facility and commercial space
on the ground floor and two lower levels.
In addition to public financing, philanthropic support included
grants from Robin Hood Foundation, Deutsche Bank’s DB SHARE program, and National Grid.
