March 14, 2019
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the start of construction on Arthur Avenue Apartments, a new $91 million affordable housing development that will create 176 affordable homes for low-income seniors 62 and older. The nine-story building in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx will include 54 apartments reserved for formerly homeless seniors in need of support services. The energy-efficient development also features approximately 4,500 square feet of health-oriented community space including an interior green house with a teaching kitchen, a working vegetable garden for tenant use and two landscaped outdoor terraces.
"The Arthur Avenue Apartments will provide safe, affordable housing options for seniors and the most vulnerable New Yorkers, ensuring the fundamental security people need," Governor Cuomo said. "These homes, paired with support services that promote health, foster independence and enrich quality of life will help New Yorkers thrive and set entire communities in the Bronx on the path towards success."
"The Arthur Avenue Apartments will provide affordable, quality housing options for formerly homeless seniors and ensure they have the support services needed to lead healthy and secure lives," said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. "This project is part of our overall efforts to increase affordable housing across the state and combat homelessness in our communities."
Arthur Avenue Apartments will consist of one nine-story building with 88 studio apartments and 88 one-bedroom apartments for seniors earning between 30 and 60 percent of the Area Median Income. Fifty-four apartments will be reserved for formerly homeless seniors with chronic health conditions who will receive on-site support services provided by the Hebrew Homes at Riverdale. Services are expected to include activities that promote socialization, life skills training and maintenance, education and fitness-based instruction groups, nutritional education, cooking, mediation and music therapy.
Residents of Arthur Avenue Apartments will have access to a working vegetable garden where they can grow their own food and share it with the community, an interior greenhouse linked to a teaching kitchen and two outdoor terraces on the 8th floor connected to two large multipurpose community rooms. Additional amenities include 24-hour security, on-site laundry, live-in super, bicycle and tenant storage and an office suite for support services.
Nearby neighborhood amenities include Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, St. Barnabas Hospital, several urgent care clinics, three libraries with senior programming, supermarkets, convenience stores, beauty salons, banks, a subway station and a Metro-North train station. Financing for Arthur Avenue Apartments is through New York State Homes and Community Renewal and includes $19.2 million in tax-exempt bonds, federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits that will generate approximately $36 million in equity for the project and an additional $13.2 million in subsidies.
The development is also supported by HCR's Green Bonds program, which issues tax-exempt bonds certified by The Climate Bond Initiative, an international not-for-profit organization supporting financing for projects around the world that reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. In order to meet the standards of HCR's Green Bonds program, Arthur Avenue Apartments has been designed to meet the requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Programs. Energy efficient features include low flow faucets, toilets and showerheads; motion sensor LED lighting in common areas; LED lighting throughout all apartments; EnergyStar appliances; light colored solar reflective hardscaping and roofing; efficient irrigation/water reuse system; EnergyStar certified roofing; highly efficient boiler and water heater; and low volatile organic compound "VOC" finishes throughout.
Funding to provide services and operations for the 54 supportive apartments will be provided through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative administered by the NYS Department of Health. The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development will provide $13.3 million through its Senior Affordable Rental Assistance Program and the NYC City Council has awarded the project $500,000.
Arthur Avenue Apartments is being developed jointly by Foxy Management and the Hebrew Home at Riverdale.
This project is another example of the state's commitment to the Health Across All Policies approach and making New York the most Age Friendly State in the nation. The inclusion of a working vegetable garden and a teaching kitchen will help residents improve their overall health.
Governor Cuomo's commitment to providing all New Yorkers with access to safe, affordable housing is reflected in the State's unprecedented $20 billion, five-year Housing Plan. The plan makes housing accessible and combats homelessness by building or preserving more than 100,000 affordable homes and 6,000 with supportive services. The plan is a comprehensive approach to statewide housing issues and includes multifamily and single-family housing and community development. Since 2011, HCR has financed the creation or preservation of more than 14,100 affordable multifamily homes in the Bronx.
Commissioner of New York State Homes and Community Renewal, RuthAnne Visnauskas, said, "Arthur Avenue Apartments ensures that more than 176 older adults, including formerly homeless and frail individuals in need of support services, can have access to safe, quality, affordable housing. The development's holistic approach to healthy living will create a nurturing environment for all residents to age in place with dignity."
New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard A. Zucker said, "Over the past several years, New York State, under Governor Cuomo, has been a national leader in providing livable communities for our seniors. This housing development will integrate community based supportive housing with access to high-quality health care services for our seniors while allowing them to stay in their community."
Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer said, "Through Housing New York 2.0, we committed to put seniors first so the residents who helped to build our city have safe, accessible, and affordable homes. Arthur Avenue Apartments will provide 176 homes for low-income seniors, thirty percent of which will serve the formerly homeless. I want to thank Foxy Management, Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale, our partners at the State and our elected officials for championing this project and helping us to ensure that quality, affordable housing is within everyone's reach."
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said, "The Arthur Avenue Apartments are exactly what The Bronx needs to ensure that our seniors enjoy life to the absolute fullest after having given so much to their communities throughout their lives. The development will make a huge difference in the lives of some of the most vulnerable members of our community and these specialized services are a real asset in promoting mental and physical wellness in its future residents. I'm excited to see this project come to fruition and I thank New York State and New York City HPD for their support of this development."
State Senator Gustavo Rivera said, "The development of the 176-unit Arthur Avenue Apartments will provide seniors in my district, including formerly homeless individual, with an affordable place to live while connecting them to supportive services that will help them on their path to self-sustenance and stability. I thank the city and state agencies involved for working to increase access to affordable housing that integrates access to healthy activities in my district."
New York City Councilman Rafael Salamanca Jr. said, "I am excited to break ground on the Arthur Avenue Apartments, which will create 176 units of affordable housing for our seniors in the South Bronx, including 54 units of supportive housing for those formerly homeless seniors. As a result of this senior affordable housing development, seniors will be able to remain in the community they have called home for many years. I thank NYSHCR, HPD, Foxy Management and Hebrew Homes at Riverdale, who will provide on-site services, for their partnership in bringing much needed senior housing to Belmont."
Jeff Fox, Principal, Foxy Management, said, "As the Baby Boomer generation is reaching maturity, the need for quality, affordable senior housing has never been greater. We applaud New York State for dedicating the necessary resources as we join the Mayor in his "Seniors First" initiative to help the most vulnerable members of our community always have a place to call home. The finished building at Arthur Avenue will contain an array of health- and nutrition-focused amenities, enabling our residents to maintain a high quality of life by preserving an active connection with nature, the city, and most importantly, each other."
Daniel Reingold, President and CEO of RiverSpring Health, featuring the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, said, "We look forward to providing much needed services to one of New York City's most vulnerable population, and helping them acclimate and ultimately flourish in this exciting, new community. We are grateful to Foxy Management and our other Arthur Avenue partners for making this vision of safe, affordable housing for older adults a reality.
Ivan Levi, Senior Loan Officer, Low Income Investment Fund, said, "Too many seniors in New York City struggle to find safe, affordable housing and to remain connected with their larger neighborhood. LIIF is proud to have provided early-stage financing for Foxy Management and Hebrew Home at Riverdale to provide critically-needed housing for extremely low-income seniors along with on-site social services that will improve their quality of life and integrate them with the surrounding community."
David Leopold, Vice President of Targeted Affordable Sales & Investments at Freddie Mac, said, "This investment is helping to provide supportive housing to senior citizens who are most in need. This is exactly the kind of meaningful transaction we envisioned in establishing our LIHTC equity fund with Boston Financial, and we could not be more pleased by this collaboration with Foxy and Hebrew Homes. This important financing will improve the quality of life for dozens of Bronx seniors."
Jane Silverman, Executive Director, Chase Community Development Banking, said, "Arthur Avenue Apartments will have a lasting impact on the Bronx community, providing seniors with an affordable and supportive place to live. We're thrilled to work with Foxy Management, Hebrew Home and other key industries players, as part of our larger and ongoing commitment to communities where we live and work, invest and lend."
Rob Charest, Senior Vice President for Boston Financial Investment Management, said, "Boston Financial is proud to partner with Foxy Management, The Hebrew Home at Riverdale, HFA, HPD, Chase, and Freddie Mac to create 177 units of safe, affordable housing. This development will provide a host of services and amenities to the most vulnerable elderly residents in the community, many of whom are currently homeless. Arthur Avenue is an excellent example of how critical the LIHTC program is in the development and preservation of affordable housing in our communities."