Gilbane Expands NYC Affordable Housing Portfolio
JV buys four Bronx apartment buildings, 525K SF development site for $107M.
Gilbane Development Co. is rapidly expanding its NYC affordable housing portfolio this year, most recently with a joint-venture purchase of four Section 8 projects and a 525,000-square-foot development site for $107.5 million from Spencer Equity.
The four apartment buildings, encompassing 477 units and 551,000 square feet, are located at 280 E. 161st St. in the Morrisania section; 2363 Southern Boulevard in Belmont; and 1105 Jerome Avenue and 101-3 West 165th Street, both in the Highbridge section.
The acquisition was made by a joint venture of Gilbane, Systima Capital Management, ELH Management and TerreAlto, according to a report in Crain’s.
Ariel Property Advisors brokered the transaction on behalf of Spencer Equity, which has been selling assets in the Bronx in recent months. Late last year, the company sold an eight-building portfolio in the South Bronx to Phoenix Realty Group for $91M, almost $25M more than Spencer’s purchase price when it acquired the portfolio in 2016.
Gilbane is planning to build a 500-unit affordable housing campus on the development site, which is behind the building at 280 East 161st. Street. The joint venture partnership will manage the four existing buildings.
Gilbane has been developing several affordable housing projects in NYC this year. The company is developing a nine-story, 290-unit affordable apartment building and a neighboring 24K SF arts center on Rockaway Avenue and Chester Street in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn.
A partnership of Gilbane and Hudson Companies is developing The Peninsula, a $300M projects in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx.
The five-acre site is being developed in three phases, beginning this year with the completion of 183 units. When completed in 2026, the project will encompass five buildings and a total of 740 units.
The Peninsula Development Team, which along with Gilbane and Hudson includes the Mutual Housing Association of New York, was selected by New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to transform the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center into a five-acre campus featuring 100% affordable housing, good jobs, and recreational space.
In addition to 740 apartment units that will be 100% affordable, The Peninsula will include 52K SF of publicly accessible open space; 50K SF of light industrial space; 54K SF of community facility space (including an ACS day care facility); and 15K SF of commercial space.
The development team is working closely with community stakeholders including The Point Community Development Corporation, Urban Health Plan, Sustainable South Bronx, The Knowledge House, Casita Maria, Rocking the Boat, and BronxWorks.