One East Harlem, 300-Unit Affordable Housing Development Breaks Ground
The mixed used project is part of the city’s East 125th Street Development.
NEW YORK CITY—One East Harlem, a one-acre, mixed-used, mixed-income development with 400 apartments, 300 of which are affordable, broke ground at 201 E. 125th St. on Thursday. The developers include Richman Group Development Corporation, Bridges Development Group, Monadnock Development and Hope Community Development.
In addition to the residential rental units, the product will have 65,000 square feet of retail space including a Food Bazaar supermarket; 5,000 square feet of local retail; 10,000 square feet of public open space; and 5,000 square feet of cultural space housing Groove With Me. This is a local organization for young girls, which offers free dance classes and performance opportunities.
The Housing Development Corporation and Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Mixed-Middle Income Program is financing the project. HDC is providing $74 million in tax-exempt bonds, plus $15 million in corporate reserves. HPD is contributing $33 million.
Citi provided a $63.5 million taxable participation loan and provided credit enhancements during the construction phase. Using a risk share structure, Freddie Mac and HDC will provide credit enhancement during the permanent phase of the loan. The project will also receive $16.7 million in low-income housing tax credits. In addition, former city council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito committed $3 million in Reso A funding.
One East Harlem resulted from the East 125th Street Development Project. The city states this plan will bring affordable housing, jobs, and space for retail, arts and culture to the area. The project extends from 125th Street to 127th Street from Second to Third avenues. It is expected to have 1,000 units of housing for different income levels, up to 700,000 square feet of commercial space with 50,000 square feet of retail reserved for local businesses. It is also planning to incorporate 30,000 square feet of space for community facilities uses, and public open space.
The Legal Aid Society had legally challenged the city’s East Harlem rezoning, under which the development project is proceeding as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing plan. The non-profit lawyers had asserted the methodology used to measure tenant displacement was flawed. The organization was concerned with the introduction of the above-market units and effects of gentrification on pricing people from their homes.
Although the city prevailed in the lawsuit, certain concerns remain. Redmond Haskins, the deputy communications director of the Legal Aid Society, tells GlobeSt.com that it is still important that affordable housing in the rezoned neighborhood be truly affordable for their clients and other New Yorkers.