The city has inked a $75 million deal that will keep 14 Harlem buildings affordable for moderate income families for the next 30 years.
Work has already begun on some of the buildings, which are clustered around W. 145th and W. 153rd Sts., between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. (Seventh Ave.) and Frederick Douglass Blvd. (Eighth Ave.).
Emerson Gaylor, tenant association president at 2745 Frederick Douglass, said workmen are fixing the roof, replacing interior lighting and making security improvements.
"It's been a lot of years of not getting anything done, but these workers are coming in and you can see the difference," Gaylor said. "They're doing great work."
The work comes as part of a $75 million deal between the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the NYC Housing Development Corp., Goldman Sachs, L+M Development Partners Inc. and Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement Inc. (HCCI), a collection of Harlem churches.
Rick Gropper, L+M project manager, said HCCI took control of the then-vacant buildings in the early 1990s and renovated them using money provided through the sale of low-income housing tax credits made available as part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
Money raised through the sale of the credits was used to renovate the buildings and also to cap rents for 15 years so that the buildings would remain affordable for low- and moderate-income renters.
Those tax credits have expired.
"HCCI created this housing, owned and operated it for that time period," Gropper said. "Now the buildings are at the point where they are in need of capital improvements."
There are 450 apartments of various sizes in the 14 buildings, which range from five to eight stories tall.
"More than 20 years ago, the city partnered with HCCI to ensure that these buildings would be reclaimed as stable, secure housing that would become a center of strength and stability in this community," said HPD Commissioner Mathew Wambua. "This critical investment gives these properties the infusion of capital needed to keep them in good repair and to ensure they remain affordable for the current tenants and next generation of hardworking New Yorkers."
Current incomes range from $34,740 for a one-person household, $39,660 for two, $44,640 for three and $49,560 for a four-person household.
Some $13 million in work will be done on the buildings, including upgrading the apartment interiors, kitchens and bathrooms, facade work, waterproofing, roofing, elevator upgrades and improvements in the common areas, Gropper said.
The work will not affect rents, he said.
"Rents will not be adjusted as a result of construction," Gropper said. "That is one of the most common questions we get from people; rather, rents will increase going forward. We are under the regulator agreement."
Thanks to an "extended use" clause in the agreement, the buildings will actually be bound by the deal for an additional 15 years, meaning rents should remain at the same levels for the next 30 years.
"At the end of the day, the most important thing is that we improved the buildings and kept residents in their homes," Gropper said.
Created in the mid-1980s, L+M has built more than 1,200 units in Harlem, including the 249-unit, mixed-income Kalahari condominium and the rehabilitated Public School 90 on W. 148th St. As part of the agreement, the company will manage the 14 buildings.
Buildings in the group include 2542 and 2538 Seventh Ave., 286 W. 147th St., 2730, 2745, 2749 and 2756 Eighth Ave., 298 and 300 W.147th St., 263 and 267 W. 152nd St., 202-216 W. 146th St. and 231 W. 145th St.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2011/07/25/2011-07-25_city_closes_pact_to_keep_harlem_bldgs_affordable.html#ixzz1TB5zreNb
Emerson Gaylor, tenant association president at 2745 Frederick Douglass, said workmen are fixing the roof, replacing interior lighting and making security improvements.
"It's been a lot of years of not getting anything done, but these workers are coming in and you can see the difference," Gaylor said. "They're doing great work."
The work comes as part of a $75 million deal between the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the NYC Housing Development Corp., Goldman Sachs, L+M Development Partners Inc. and Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement Inc. (HCCI), a collection of Harlem churches.
Rick Gropper, L+M project manager, said HCCI took control of the then-vacant buildings in the early 1990s and renovated them using money provided through the sale of low-income housing tax credits made available as part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
Money raised through the sale of the credits was used to renovate the buildings and also to cap rents for 15 years so that the buildings would remain affordable for low- and moderate-income renters.
Those tax credits have expired.
"HCCI created this housing, owned and operated it for that time period," Gropper said. "Now the buildings are at the point where they are in need of capital improvements."
There are 450 apartments of various sizes in the 14 buildings, which range from five to eight stories tall.
"More than 20 years ago, the city partnered with HCCI to ensure that these buildings would be reclaimed as stable, secure housing that would become a center of strength and stability in this community," said HPD Commissioner Mathew Wambua. "This critical investment gives these properties the infusion of capital needed to keep them in good repair and to ensure they remain affordable for the current tenants and next generation of hardworking New Yorkers."
Current incomes range from $34,740 for a one-person household, $39,660 for two, $44,640 for three and $49,560 for a four-person household.
Some $13 million in work will be done on the buildings, including upgrading the apartment interiors, kitchens and bathrooms, facade work, waterproofing, roofing, elevator upgrades and improvements in the common areas, Gropper said.
The work will not affect rents, he said.
"Rents will not be adjusted as a result of construction," Gropper said. "That is one of the most common questions we get from people; rather, rents will increase going forward. We are under the regulator agreement."
Thanks to an "extended use" clause in the agreement, the buildings will actually be bound by the deal for an additional 15 years, meaning rents should remain at the same levels for the next 30 years.
"At the end of the day, the most important thing is that we improved the buildings and kept residents in their homes," Gropper said.
Created in the mid-1980s, L+M has built more than 1,200 units in Harlem, including the 249-unit, mixed-income Kalahari condominium and the rehabilitated Public School 90 on W. 148th St. As part of the agreement, the company will manage the 14 buildings.
Buildings in the group include 2542 and 2538 Seventh Ave., 286 W. 147th St., 2730, 2745, 2749 and 2756 Eighth Ave., 298 and 300 W.147th St., 263 and 267 W. 152nd St., 202-216 W. 146th St. and 231 W. 145th St.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2011/07/25/2011-07-25_city_closes_pact_to_keep_harlem_bldgs_affordable.html#ixzz1TB5zreNb
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