Bronx, NY – Officials from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) joined U.S. Congressman Jose E. Serrano, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Councilmember Rafael Salamanca, Jr., and representatives from Azimuth Development, Joy Construction, and project partners to celebrate the start of construction of Concourse Village West, a brand new 265-unit affordable housing development located in the Fleetwood - Concourse Village neighborhood of the Bronx. The development is an infill project spanning three sites along the southern section of the Grand Concourse. Site 1 will be a 10-story building located at 180 East 156th Street, Site 2 will be a 14-story building located at 702 Grand Concourse, and Site 3 will be an 11-story building located at 741 Concourse Village West.
“Today we are making a long term investment in the South Bronx with permanent affordability locked-in for more than 100 of these 265 affordable homes, in addition to new retail and community facility space,” said HDC President Eric Enderlin. “I thank all our dedicated partners at Azimuth Development Group, Joy Construction, Wells Fargo, and HPD and look forward to our continued work together on this transformative project.”
“We are always looking for ways to provide our city’s diverse population access to affordable housing. Concourse Village West will provide new, affordable homes for New Yorkers earning a range of incomes, and through the City’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program, 69 of the 265 homes will be permanently affordable,” said HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. “We value our partners who care just as deeply about affordable housing as we do, and I want to thank them for their hard work on this project.”
“In recent years, quality affordable housing has become increasingly difficult to find in the Bronx and the rest of the City. We need to do more to expand the number of affordable housing units available and fight drastic increases in rent. With the new Concourse Village West housing facility, hundreds of low- and middle-income Bronx families will now have access to affordable housing. I commend the City for their continued efforts in this area,” said Congressman José E. Serrano.
“Concourse Village West will bring much-needed new affordable housing units to this neighborhood, creating stable homes for Bronx families. I congratulate the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) joined Azimuth Development, Joy Construction and my colleagues for their work to make this tremendous new project a reality,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
“Concourse Village West is particularly exciting for our community because of its unique location on and around the historic Grand Concourse,” said Council Member Rafael Salamanca, Jr. “I was proud to be able to fight diligently for units priced for both low-income and working Bronx families, whom I believe will benefit greatly with the addition of these beautiful new buildings.”
Apartments at Concourse Village West are financed under HPD and HDC’s Mix-and-Match Program, creating 132 affordable units serving low-income households and 131 units serving middle-income households. Sixty-nine (69) units in this development will be permanently affordable under the City’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) Program. An additional 15% of all units (39 units) will be permanently affordable. Hence, a total of 108 units in this development will remain affordable in perpetuity.
“We at Azimuth Development Group are both proud and thrilled to be a part of such an exciting project in the heart of the South Bronx. This development would not have been possible without the assistance of our colleagues at HDC, HPD, our elected officials and our financing partners,” said Guido Subotovksy, President at Azimuth Development Group. “We look forward to continuing to serve our mission of providing quality affordable housing in the Bronx for years to come.”
“Joy Construction is both honored and excited to be a part of such a transformative deal,” said Eli S. Weiss, Principal and Director of Development for Joy Construction Corp. “We are very fortunate to have dynamic partners, both public and private, who share our passion and commitment to developing affordable housing and the continued revitalization of the Bronx.”
The unit mix will include forty-two (42) studios, one hundred fourteen (114) one-bedroom units, seventy-eight (78) two-bedroom units, twenty-nine (29) three-bedroom units, and two two-bedroom superintendents’ units. Additionally, the building includes one commercial space totaling 5,595 square feet, 7,285 square feet of community space and 176 below-grade parking spaces available to residents and the community.
The total development cost for Concourse Village West is approximately $111.8 million. HDC provided nearly $26 million in tax-exempt bonds and more than $19 million in recycled bonds. HPD provided nearly $21 million in City capital in addition to 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) which generated roughly $19.8 million in tax credit equity. Wells Fargo is serving as tax credit investor and also provided a stand by letter of credit for the project.
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About New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD):
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the nation’s largest municipal housing preservation and development agency. Its mission is to promote quality housing and diverse, thriving neighborhoods for New Yorkers through loan and development programs for new affordable housing, preservation of the affordability of the existing housing stock, enforcement of housing quality standards, and educational programs for tenants and building owners. HPD is tasked with fulfilling Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York: A Five-Borough Ten-Year Plan to create and preserve 200,000 affordable units for New Yorkers at the very lowest incomes to those in the middle class. For more information visit www.nyc.gov/hpd and for regular updates on HPD news and services, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @NYCHousing.
About New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC):
In 1971, the New York State Legislature created the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) as a supplementary and alternative means of supplying financing for affordable housing that was independent from the City's capital budget. The flexibility built into HDC’s authorizing statute allows it to amend its programs and goals in response to the changing economic climate. As a result, HDC has become the leading local housing finance agency in the nation, outperforming many of the nation’s largest banks in the volume and dollar amount of bonds issued. Since 2014, HDC has leveraged more than $4.5 billion in bond financing and devoted more than $480 million in direct subsidy from its corporate reserves to support Mayor de Blasio’s housing plan.
