The New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and Douglaston Development announced the closing of construction financing for a 12-story, 277-unit multifamily affordable housing development at 2868 Webster Avenue in the Bedford Park neighborhood of the Bronx. The 250,000-square-foot development is the second phase of a two-phased affordable development project that also includes 2850 Webster Avenue, a 188-unit senior housing development that celebrated its opening in the Fall of 2023 and is located adjacent to The New York Botanical Garden’s 250-acre grounds.
“With the second phase of this development underway, 2868 Webster Avenue will soon provide nearly 280 affordable homes, coupled with modern amenities and easy access to an improved and expanded neighborhood grocery store,” said HDC President Eric Enderlin in a statement. “Thank you to all of our partners involved, whose creativity and hard work on this multi-phased project will deliver much-needed affordable housing to the Bedford Park community.”
“For those that have supported this project from the beginning, the first 188 units of housing for older New Yorkers has already been a tremendous success. However, this second multifamily complex gives us 277 additional reasons to welcome and celebrate more deeply affordable housing coming to the Bronx,” said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. “An opportunity originated by the visionary team at the New York Botanical Garden, 2868 Webster will become one of New York’s gems. With a design philosophy that honors its association with the garden through intentional thematic choices of interior materials and art coupled with access to a beautiful green space, resident amenities and on-site supportive services, these buildings are what we envision for the over 460 individuals and families that will call this home”
“Following the success of 2850 Webster, which fulfilled a vital need for affordable senior housing in the Bronx, we look forward to building on this momentum with the next phase of development that will deliver affordable housing to families in the community,” said Jeffrey Levine, Founder and Chairman of Douglaston Development. “We are proud to be advancing an additional avenue of affordable housing for New Yorkers at a time when new supply is sparse.”
The New York Botanical Garden selected Douglaston Development to lead the development through a competitive request for proposals process and executed a 99-year ground lease with Douglaston affiliates in August of 2020. Construction will be performed by Levine Builders, the general contracting and construction management affiliate of Douglaston Development and is slated to be completed in 2027.
“The need for affordable housing in our community is so great, and The New York Botanical Garden is gratified by New York City’s commitment to help address it through this mixed-use housing development,” said Aaron Bouska, Vice President for Government and Community Relations at NYBG. “We are proud that the first phase of this project has been a successful undertaking for seniors, and we are pleased to be able to continue to partner with Douglaston Development and community stakeholders to present an affordable housing opportunity for families and to bring this project to much-needed and highly anticipated fruition.”
The project is funded by $83.4 million in tax-exempt bond financing and $17.4 million in subsidies as allocated by HDC. HPD provided a $52.6 million subsidy under its Extremely Low- and Low-Income Affordability Program (“ELLA”). Wells Fargo is providing Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) as well as a letter of credit for the project.
“Wells Fargo is proud to partner with the City of New York and Douglaston Development to support the new construction of an affordable and attractive place for families to call home,” said Alan Wiener, Vice Chairman of Commercial Real Estate at Wells Fargo. “By leveraging our debt and equity platforms, we are honored to be part of a project that will bring much needed affordable housing to the Bronx and will have a profound impact on the community for decades to come.”
The building will be comprised of 277 affordable housing units, a mix of studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom residences available to those earning up to 70% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Sixty of the residences will be designated as Supportive units. The building will also feature resident amenities including laundry facilities, a fitness center, green roofs and on-site resident and retail parking. On-site supportive services for residents will be provided by the Jericho Project.
Tori Lyon, CEO of Jericho Project, said, “We are thrilled to expand our mission of providing supportive housing with this new development at 2868 Webster Avenue. By integrating 60 supportive units into this mixed-use community, we are not only offering affordable housing but also fostering an environment where residents can thrive with the necessary services and support. This project exemplifies the positive impact of collaborative efforts in addressing the housing crisis and creating lasting change for families and individuals in need.”
The property includes approximately 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space leased by longstanding neighborhood grocery purveyor, Cherry Valley Marketplace, which, upon completion of this project, will expand its current 12,000-square-foot store at 2852 Webster Avenue to create a combined 20,000-square-foot grocery store for the community. The project benefits from NYC DCP’s FRESH (Food Retail Expansion to Support Health) Program, which provides zoning and tax benefits for the creation or renovation of supermarkets that agree to operate as certified FRESH food stores in applicable districts throughout New York City.
“This project highlights the strength and critical importance of partnership between public and private entities,” said Liz Oakley, Executive Vice President, Affordable Development at Douglaston Development. “We are excited to be replacing an older low-rise grocery store with a brand-new purpose-built FRESH grocery store for a longstanding operator in the community, topped off with a total of 465 apartments for a mixed-income and multi-generational development with a variety of on-site services for residents.”
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