Rendering of the Betances Family Apartments. Image Credit: HPD.
Supportive services will be offered to all households. On September 28, 2021, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced the finalization of a deal to bring 101 new affordable apartments to the Mott Haven neighborhood in the Bronx. The Betances Family Apartments project, located at the corner of East 146th Street and Willis Avenue on NYCHA’s Betances VI campus, will be 100 percent affordable. The new mixed-use building will replace a vacant retail building.
The fifteen story building will have nineteen studio apartments, 44 one-bedroom apartments, 24 two-bedroom apartments, thirteen three-bedroom apartments, and one three-bedroom superintendent apartment. Seventy apartments will be available at 80 percent area median income, and the remaining thirty apartments will be set aside for formerly homeless individuals. Supportive services will be provided by The Bridge, a local non-profit and will include case management, benefits counseling, and connections to community dental, substance abuse and mental health services. These supportive services will be available to all households in the building.
The building’s amenities will include bike storage, an outdoor green roof terrace, 24/7 building security, and a children’s playroom. The ground floor will have approximately 10,000 square feet of commercial space. The building was designed by Think! Architecture and Design. The project was developed by Lemle & Wolff Development Company, Alembic Community Development, and The Bridge. Lemle & Wolff will serve as the project’s general contractor and property manager.
The project is expected to cost $60 million and will begin construction next month. Permanent financing includes a $9.2 million mortgage from Sterling National Bank, $14.7 million in HPD ELLA financing, $1 million in Reso A funds issued from Council Member Diana Ayala, $500,000 in Reso A funds issued from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., $5.7 million in Brownfields Tax Credit Equity, $24 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, $2.5 million from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, and another $2.8 million from other sources.
HPD Commissioner Louise Carroll stated, “Since the start of the Administration, HPD has partnered with NYCHA to use our scarce City land to advance our shared goals of providing affordable housing and economic opportunity to all New Yorkers. Betances VI will provide 101 deeply affordable homes and on-site supportive services for low-income New Yorkers, including those who have experienced homelessness. I want to thank NYCHA, Lemle & Wolff Development Company, Alembic Community Development, and The Bridge for their partnership on this dynamic project.”
Council Member Diana Ayala stated, “The Betances Family Apartments will offer a NYCHA resident hiring plan as well as a job training through the HOPE Program in partnership with Sustainable South Bronx, which is why I am thrilled to have been able to help fund this project and look forward to seeing the development move forward. The Betances Family Apartment project will bring much-needed permanent affordable housing to the Mott Haven community. This is the type of development we need to prioritize, as we recover from our housing and economic crisis. I want to thank NYCHA, HPD, Lemle & Wolff, and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. for their partnership in finalizing this project and bringing 101 units of affordable housing to the Mott Haven neighborhood.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)