NYCHA Housing Ocean Bay Apartments Completes Major Rehab

NEW YORK CITY—The $560 major rehabilitation of the Ocean Bay Apartments, a 24-building, 1,396-unit public housing complex located at Beach Channel Drive between Beach 54th and Beach 58th streets in Far Rockaway, Queens, has been completed. The redevelopment was New York City Housing Authority’s first and the country’s largest single-site conversion under HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration. This program allows housing authorities to use private capital for funding, while protecting affordability.

Built in the early 1960s, Ocean Bay suffered from significant federal divestment. In 2012 Hurricane Sandy extensively damaged the complex which houses nearly 4,000 residents, The property desperately needed repair, from in-unit renovations to the major rehabilitation of building infrastructure.

Completed in just two years, the work included completely renovating the kitchens and bathrooms. The renovations included apartment-wide rehabilitations with new windows, flooring and fresh paint. Through a phased restoration, all tenants were able to remain in their homes throughout the apartment work.

In addition to in-unit renovations, the project encompassed roof replacements, upgrade of elevator machinery and equipment, improved hallways, and the installation of new boilers and heating systems. The restoration included security cameras, interior and exterior lighting, and a new key fob entry system. 

Ocean Bay received the third-largest solar panel installation at an affordable housing development in New York, a secure flood wall around the entire 33-acre site, water retention swales, stand-alone electric service buildings built above the flood zone, and the conversion of one central boiler steam system to 24 individual hydronic boilers on the roof of each building. 

With assistance from the Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, the project will include a comprehensive social services program. It will provide access to mental health clinics, youth employment programs, food pantries, emergency assistance programs and educational enrichment services.

The project also has basketball courts, as well as 50 family plots within 2,400 square feet of community gardening space.

The federal, state, city, and private investments consisted of more than $83 million in tax-exempt bonds and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from NYS Homes and Community Renewal that generated $170 million in equity, and $1.1 million secured via the Investment Tax Credit generated from solar, and over $121 million in FEMA funds for resiliency measures related to the buildings. 

Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency provided approximately $89 million for extensive weather-resilient repairs at the site. Under RAD, Ocean Bay units moved to a Section 8 housing with a long-term contract ensuring that the units remain permanently affordable to low-income households, restricting rent to no more than 30% of resident income.

Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group was a lead investor in the rehabilitation of the project. And Citi provided over $213 million of debt financing as well as a portion of the equity financing for Ocean Bay.

NYCHA selected its development and management partners through a competitive RFP process. New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), US Department of Housing and Urban Development, RDC Development (a joint venture between MDG Design + Construction and Wavecrest Management) and partners worked to ensure the timely completion of this project.