$273M Manhattan Rehab Secures Key Funding
Publication: Multi-Housing News
Merchants Capital has secured more than $100 million in total financing for the acquisition, recapitalization and substantial rehabilitation of two affordable housing developments totaling 523 units in the East Harlem section of Manhattan. The move is part of the latest Permanent Affordability Commitment Together project in New York City. The New York City Housing Authority closed on the financing for the $272.6 million PACT project in late September.
Details on other funding sources were not immediately available. Construction has already started at the Metro North Plaza and Gaylord White Houses, which is slated to be completed in three years.
Metro North Plaza is located at 305 E. 101st St. and has a total of three buildings. Gaylord White Houses has one building and is located at East 104th St. and Second Avenue. Following the renovations, both properties will be known as Metro North White Houses, and have been converted to Project-Based Section 8 through the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program.
Converting the buildings to Project-Based Section 8 unlocks funding that allows the PACT partners team – nonprofit organizations The Community Builders and Ascendant Neighborhood Development – to begin the renovation process to improve the quality of life for the nearly 900 residents at the two properties. PACT began in 2016 and is based on partnerships with private and nonprofit partners.
The Community Builders and Ascendant Neighborhood Development were selected as the PACT partner team by NYCHA and resident leaders in February 2023. The team will also provide expanded social services through The Community Builders’ Community Life team and existing on-site and local teams. TCB has built and rehabilitated more than 30,000 units of housing in more than 350 developments across 14 states. Ascendant is an East Harlem-based nonprofit that has completed 22 historic redevelopments, operates 817 affordable apartments and has 2,178 units in development.
MDG Design & Construction is general contractor for the project and Wavecrest Management will be the property manager.
Both developments are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Metro North Plaza was selected due to its significance as a model of community-led development while Gaylord White Houses were chosen because it was NYCHA’s first senior-only building. Built in 1971, Metro North Plaza has 275 apartments. Gaylord White Houses has 248 apartments.
Rehab plans
Upon completion, Metro North White Houses will have a total of 53 studios, 272 one-bedroom units, 79 two-bedroom units, 77 three-bedroom units, 20 four-bedroom units, 15 five-bedroom units and 7 units designated as either non-residential or a super’s unit. Plans also call for inclusion of four community facilities, an outdoor playground and common laundry area.
Improvements will be made to unit and building interiors, systems, public spaces and facades. Roofs will be repaired or replaced. New windows will be installed and elevators will be overhauled. Security upgrades will include LED lighting installations, security cameras in common areas, stairwells and building entrances. There will also be new video intercom systems added and key fob-controlled building entrances.
Metro North Plaza’s existing heating infrastructure will be converted to a hydronic system for consistent and reliable heating.
More PACT projects
According to NYCHA, more than 146 NYCHA developments, representing more than 39,000 units and more than $13 billion in capital repairs, are in pre-development, under construction or have completed construction through the PACT program. NYCHA is working to include 62,000 apartments in the PACT program to expand needed renovations and upgrades and offer enhanced property management and social services to more than 142,000 residents.
In June, Merchants Capital worked with NYCHA to obtain $231 million in financing for the renovation of Eastchester Gardens, an 877-unit public housing property in the Bronx. Established in 1950, the property is one of the oldest public housing developments in New York City and the second oldest in the borough. It has 10 buildings housing more than 1,850 residents, a community center and a senior center. MDG Design & Construction and Wavecrest Management are also participating in this PACT rehabilitation project.
Just over a year ago, NYCHA, RDC Development and a joint venture between Wavecrest Management and MDG Design & Construction completed the $492 million renovation of Williamsburg Houses, a 1,629-unit complex in Brooklyn. Completed in 1938, it’s one of the oldest properties managed by NYCHA. Williamsburg Houses comprises 20 buildings across 21 acres and is home to more than 3,000 residents.
Also last fall, Genesis Cos. and Lemor Development Group closed on financing for the $383.6 million PACT project with NYCHA to renovate more than 600 units at the Frederick Samuel Apartments in Harlem. Home to more than 1,200 residents, the complex stretches from West 139th Street to West 147th Street, between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Lenox Avenue. It comprises 40 buildings, many of which are more than a century old.
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