Bronx, NY – The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, and Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise) announce the financing of Serviam Heights, a new 197-unit green, affordable housing development for low-income and formerly homeless seniors.
Serviam Heights is Phase III of Fordham Bedford’s “Serviam” senior housing campus, which includes Serviam Gardens, Phase I of the development, an 83-unit mixed construction project, and Serviam Towers, Phase II of the development, a 160-unit new construction project. These projects were completed in 2009 and 2010.
“Through Housing New York we aim to push ourselves and our partners to find new creative ways to develop much needed affordable housing in New York City. It is with pleasure that we celebrate the financing of this multifaceted affordable senior development,” said HPD Commissioner Vicki Been. “The redevelopment of an underused site with existing structures into affordable housing is exactly the type of innovative development planning we need. I want to congratulate Fordham Bedford, Enterprise, and development partners on completing the financing for this development. I look forward to celebrating the opening and greeting the residents of Serviam Heights.”
“Our senior population is growing rapidly, as is the demand for affordable housing,” said Gary Rodney, President of HDC. “This dynamic, mixed-construction project will provide 197 sustainable, affordable homes for low-income and formerly homeless seniors seeking stability and independence. HDC is proud to partner with HPD, NYCHA, Fordham Bedford, Enterprise, and our elected officials in building a more affordable City for all New Yorkers, including our most vulnerable residents.”
The project will include the rehabilitation and conversion of a four-story convent building into 57 apartments, as well as the new construction of a nine-story building containing 140 apartments, and the conversion of a two-story chapel into a senior community life center and office space. Once completed, Serviam Heights will include 24 studios, 171 one-bedroom apartments, and two two-bedroom apartments for superintendents. All units will receive project-based Section 8 vouchers provided by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). The vouchers will allow residents to pay 30 percent of their monthly income, whatever it may be, towards rent. Apartments will be available to seniors earning and annual income up to $30,250 for an individual or $38,850 for a household of three. Income levels have been set according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) 2015 calculations. Thirty apartments will be set aside for homeless or formerly homeless seniors.
“Fordham Bedford is pleased to convert such an important building and location in our community to senior housing. The need for this affordable housing grows greater every day,” said John Reilly, Executive Director of the Housing Corporation.
Renovations will include energy efficient upgrades such as aluminum double-hung windows with low-E, argon-filled glazing; high-efficiency Energy Star-rated lighting fixtures; Energy Star-rated appliances; and green plumbing fixtures including dual flush water closets and low flow sinks. The project will be Enterprise Green Communities certified upon completion.
“Seniors are among New York’s most vulnerable individuals, many of whom live on fixed incomes and struggle to find a safe, affordable place to live,” said Judi Kende, Vice President and New York Market Leader, Enterprise. “Serviam Heights, part of the incredible Serviam senior housing campus, provides older adults with the affordable housing they need to age in place comfortably. But there is more work to be done. With the number of seniors expected to grow to 46 million nationwide by 2030, we need more resources dedicated to senior housing in order to ensure that all older adults can live in a home they can afford.”
“BNY Mellon has a long history of supporting the communities where our employees live and work. We are proud to have provided financing for this important next phase of Fordham Bedford’s Serviam senior housing campus, which will deliver high quality affordable housing and further Fordham Bedford’s mission to improve the Bronx neighborhoods in which it operates. Supporting the Serviam senior housing campus makes business sense and is the right thing to do for the community,” added Andrew Blumetti, Managing Director, BNY Mellon.
The total development cost for this project is approximately $98.8 million. Financing for the project includes $47 million in fixed-rate tax-exempt bonds from HDC and $11.9 million in financing from HDC Corporate Reserves. HPD is providing $14.6 million in City Capital Funds through its Senior Housing Affordable Rental Apartments Program (SARA). HPD will also provide $153,000 in federal HOME funds. New York City Council Member Ritchie Torres is providing $500,000 in Reso A. Enterprise syndicated $40.3 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and BNY Mellon provided the tax credit equity.
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About Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation
The mission of the Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, established by tenants and community leaders in 1980, is to improve our Bronx neighborhood by providing community-run housing that is safe, sound and affordable. When Fordham Bedford was founded, the apartment buildings in our community were deteriorating rapidly and facing the abandonment so prevalent in other parts of the Bronx and New York City. FBHC established ownership and community management by purchasing its first building for $100. The related threat of abandonment and the problem of affordability mandated that the Housing Corporation focus almost exclusively on housing preservation for many years. The stabilization of local housing stock – an effort in which we played a significant role – has allowed us to focus considerable attention to the quality of the local environment around our affordable housing. Today the Housing Corporation oversees the management of 110 buildings with 3500 apartments, with most of our work being in occupied buildings. Fordham Bedford, a leader in green building in New York City, is also committed to creating healthy and environmentally-friendly projects for residents and the community. For more information, please visit www.fordham-bedford.org
About the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)
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 via www.facebook.com/nychpd and www.twitter.com/nychousing.
About the NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC)
HDC is the nation's largest municipal Housing Finance Agency and is charged with helping to finance the creation or preservation of affordable housing under Mayor Bill de Blasio's Housing New York plan. Since 2003, HDC has financed more than 120,000 housing units using over $13.7 billion in bonds, and provided in excess of $1.6 billion in subsidy from corporate reserves. HDC ranks among the nation's top issuers of mortgage revenue bonds for affordable multi-family housing on Thomson Reuter's annual list of multi-family bond issuers. In each of the last four consecutive years, HDC's annual bond issuance has surpassed $1 billion. For additional information, visit: www.nychdc.com.
About Enterprise
Enterprise works with partners nationwide to build opportunity. We create and advocate for affordable homes in thriving communities linked to jobs, good schools, health care and transportation. We lend funds, finance development and manage and build affordable housing, while shaping new strategies, solutions and policy. Over more than 30 years, Enterprise has created nearly 340,000 homes, invested $18.6 billion and touched millions of lives. Join us at www.EnterpriseCommunity.com or www.EnterpriseCommunity.org.
About BNY Mellon
BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of Dec. 31, 2015, BNY Mellon had $28.9 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.6 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news.
