Brooklyn Affordable Project Lands $72M Loan

Publication: Multihousing News

By: Pavel Cazacu

The New York State Housing Finance Agency provided the bulk of the funds for the 160-unit development, one component of a 4,000-home housing initiative in the borough.

A partnership between MDG Design + Construction, Smith & Henzy Advisory Group and The New York Foundling has received $72.1 million in financing for a 160-unit affordable housing project in Brooklyn, public records show. The project is one of four in the first phase of Governor Cuomo’s Vital Brooklyn initiative, intended to develop some 4,000 affordable homes in central Brooklyn.

The New York State Housing Finance Agency is providing most of the funding, totaling $71.8 million through $41.4 million in construction bonds and a $30.4 million subsidy loan. The New York Foundling also originated a $300,000 note for the project.

Monadnock Construction is the general contractor for the project, located at 535 E. 98th St. Plans call for a seven-story building with affordable units for residents across several income brackets. The community will also reserve 26 supportive units for tenants with developmental disabilities and will provide services including meal planning, computer literacy programs and socialization assistance.

Located across from Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, the project’s 1-acre parcel will be utilized under a 40-year ground lease held by One Brooklyn Health System. The property’s amenity package will include entertainment and computer rooms, a theater, a kitchen for cooking classes and a rooftop terrace. The site is four blocks south of the Saratoga Avenue subway station, 3 miles from downtown Brooklyn.

Last summer, MDG and Wavecrest Management finalized the $560 million rehabilitation of the 1,395-unit Ocean Bay Apartments in Queens. Although Hurricane Sandy had damaged the property, residents remained in place throughout the phased renovation program.

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