Developer Foxy Management has opened a new senior housing property at 1880 Boston Road in the West Farms neighborhood of the Bronx.
The 168-unit development added eight stories to an existing building that includes community facility space occupied by Cerebral Palsy of New York State and Metro Community Health Center, in addition to retail space and below grade parking.
The newly constructed residential addition contains 167 affordable apartments for low-income and formerly homeless seniors, with a mix of studios and one-bedrooms, plus one superintendent’s unit.
The project was designed to meet Enterprise Green Communities criteria with sustainable features including EnergyStar appliances, a rooftop solar panel array, and high-efficiency boilers and hot water heating systems.
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Hebrew Home at Riverdale, Alembic Community Development partnered on the development.
“As this city grows, we have to make sure that New Yorkers can grow along with it. Recognizing the staying power that affordable housing provides New Yorkers is central to achieving that goal,” said HPD Commissioner Louise Carroll. “I want to thank our partners at Alembic and Foxy Management for their collaboration as we make strides in our mission to create 300,000 affordable homes by 2026.”
Jeff Fox, principal of Foxy Management, added: “This project exemplifies the successful collaboration between government, the non-profit sector and private business to serve a major need in the community – housing and caring for low-income and homeless seniors, a group that is all-too-often left behind in the City’s frenetic pace and ever-increasing cost of living.
“I am proud to call the Hebrew Home and Alembic my partners and good friends, as they continually demonstrate the highest level of compassion and professionalism. Special thanks to the financing team – HDC, HPD, Councilmember Salamanca, NYCHA, DOH, Raymond James and TD Bank – your efforts and dedication to our mission is awe-inspiring.”
The Hebrew Home at Riverdale will provide on-site social services to all residents, including case management, counseling, and referrals to off-site medical, dental, mental health recreation and social services. Service funding was received from the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI).
Additionally, the residents will have access to 3,500 s/f of community space, including a lounge/library, multi-purpose room, recreation room, yoga/exercise room, arts and crafts room and office space for social services. The building also includes a 3,000 s/f outdoor recreational space for the residents, which is furnished with a grant from the Lendlease Foundation, and further adorned by a colorful mural sponsored by Foxy Management’s Foxy Wall Project.
All apartments at 1880 Boston Road are available to extremely low-income senior households with at least one person 62 years of age and over. Each resident is required to pay only thirty percent of their monthly income towards rent with the remaining rent cost subsidized by a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The project is one of the first to benefit from the city’s Zoning for Quality and Affordability (ZQA) amendment and the Affordable Independent Residences for Seniors (AIRS) provision. ZQA and the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing amendments passed in March 2016.
The change represents one of the most significant updates to the New York City Zoning Resolution in decades and allows for the creation of more affordable housing and higher quality buildings.
The development was financed under HPD’s Senior Affordable Rental Apartments (SARA) and HDC’s Extremely Low and Low-Income Affordability (ELLA) Program. HDC provided $37.8 million of tax-exempt bonds and $9.24 million in corporate reserves. HPD provided $12.4 million in Federal HOME funds. New York City Council Member Rafael Salamanca provided $728,000 in Reso A funds.
Raymond James acted as the tax credit syndicator and provided a combined investment of $34.8 million in federal tax credit equity and TD Bank provided a $38 million credit enhancement for the tax-exempt bonds through its Commercial Real Estate Group.
