$118M Affordable Senior Housing Project Opens in NYC

Tres Puentes Senior Apartments. Image courtesy of BerlinRosen

A $117.7 million affordable housing community has opened in the Bronx, N.Y. The two-building, 175-unit property will offer apartment homes for seniors and individuals with special needs, as well as 10,000 square feet of health-oriented commercial and community space.

The opening comes on the heels of several affordable housing projects either breaking ground or securing financing in the New York area. Among the projects are the fully-affordable development Caton Flats, which broke ground in Brooklyn in mid-May and will offer 255 affordable units to the community, and Centerton Village, a two-building property in Mount Laurel, N.J. that broke ground last week and will offer 103 units of affordable housing once completed.

Situated in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx at 285 E. 138^th St. and 2550 3^rd Ave., Tres Puentes Senior Apartments consists of a newly built 11-story building with 119 units and an 8-story building with 56 units. The properties offer a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments. Of the apartment units, 53 will be set aside for households where at least one member has a serious mental illness. The property’s developer, West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing, will provide support services for those apartments.

Amenities at Tres Puentes include a community room, a laundry room on each floor and a landscaped outdoor area.  Of the commercial and community space, 4,500 square feet is for a community health center operated by Urban Health Plan Inc., 1,300 square feet is for a small locally-owned pharmacy and 3,300 square feet will add to the existing Borinquen Court Senior Center, which provides meals and other services to residents and local seniors.

The housing community was designed to comply with guidelines set out by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Multifamily Performance Program Guidelines and includes energy-efficient features like Energy Star heating and cooling equipment, appliances and light fixtures, as well as water-conserving plumbing fixtures, daylight sensors on exterior lighting and green roofs to lessen the impact of storm runoff. Both buildings at the site are equipped with back-up power generators.

A State effort

The project received financing through the State of New York, including $25.6 million in permanent tax-exempt bonds, federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits that generated $49.6 million in equity, $6.1 million in Medicaid Redesign Team funds and $1.5 million from the Community Investment Fund from New York State Homes and Community Renewal.

Additionally, Tres Puentes received $13 million from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Senior Affordable Rental Apartments Program and $600,000 from the NYC Office of Environmental Remediation. The New York City Council and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., provided $3 million.