1,000-Unit Affordable Community Breaks Ground in NYC
The development in Brooklyn will be located two blocks from the Coney Island Boardwalk and will include retail and office space.
1709 Surf Avenue
A trio of development firms and city agencies broke ground on phase one of a 1,000-unit apartment community located at 1709 Surf Ave. in Brooklyn, N.Y. The 100 percent affordable development will include 446 units for the formerly homeless, very low-, low- and moderate-income households and is expected to open in 2021.
BFC Partners, L+M Development Partners and Taconic Investment Partners teamed up to build the project, with support from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD), the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC).
Financing for the first phase of the project closed in June, with a total cost of $253.9 million. HDC provided more than $77 million in tax-exempt bonds. The three-phase project also benefits from low-income housing tax credits, which generated more than $64 million in tax credit equity from investors through Wells Fargo, which also provided the letter of credit.
Resiliency measures
The first phase of the project will include two 16-story towers above a 7-story podium, with office space for the NYC Human Resources Administration occupying 66,000 square feet on the ground and second floors in one building.
The project is located two blocks from the Stillwell/Coney Island subway stop and two blocks from the historic Coney Island Boardwalk. The retail spaces will be flood-proofed and the buildings will include deployable flood barriers at the main residential entrances to prevent flooding within the building.
Image courtesy of Handel Architects LLP
