$135M Affordable Tower Opens in NYC Suburb
More than one-third of the units at the $135 million property are set aside for survivors of domestic abuse.
Georgica Green Ventures, in collaboration with RXR, has officially opened Highgarden Tower, a 219-unit, permanently affordable community in New Rochelle, N.Y. Construction began on the $135 million transit-oriented development in 2021.
SBJ Group provided architectural and interior design services for the 19-story, 275,000-square-foot project. West 20th Construction LLC served as the general contractor. GGV and West were also part of the team behind Raven Hall, a 216-unit affordable community in Brooklyn, N.Y.
By incorporating sustainable building practices such as water-conserving fixtures and high-efficiency lighting controls, Highgarden Tower attained the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria and the Housing Finance Agency Mandatory Green & Energy Conservation Certification.
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Out of the 219 units, 77 are set aside for domestic abuse survivors which benefit from services provided by New Destiny. The services include counseling, employment coaching, work readiness, academic assistance for children and workshops, to name a few.
What’s more, 27 of these units are income-restricted at 30 percent of the area median income, with the remaining 50 restricted at 50 percent of AMI. The other 133 units cater to residents earning a maximum of 60 and 80 percent of AMI.
The community includes studio and one- to two-bedroom floorplans, ranging from 450 to 827 square feet. In addition, a non-revenue generating, three-bedroom, superintendent unit measures 950 square feet.
Available amenities feature two community lounges, laundry facilities, a gym, a storage room, as well as a children’s playroom and greenspaces. Furthermore, Highgarden Tower provides 8,000 square feet of community incubator space to expand and develop small businesses.
Located at 11 Garden St. in downtown New Rochelle, the community is less than 1 mile from Interstate 95. An Amtrak station and more than half a dozen bus stops are within walking distance. Several parks and healthcare facilities are proximate to the community.
Funding affordable housing in New York
Funding for the project included equity from New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s federal and state LIHTC amounting to $45 million, as well as $34.7 million in subsidy and a $6 million loan from HCR’s Federal Housing Trust Fund.
Additionally, the New York HFA issued $26.5 million in permanent tax-exempt bonds with Bank of America as trustee, Yardi Matrix data shows. Moreover, the New York State Department of Tax and Finance issued $7 million in tax credits thanks to the site’s participation in the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Brownfield Cleanup Program.
In the past five years, HCR has created or preserved upward of 4,700 affordable homes in Westchester County. Highgarden Tower was built as a result of this effort and Governor Hochul’s $25 billion Housing Plan set to build or preserve 100,000 affordable units across New York. Just last year, the state was awarded more than $390 million in bonds and subsidies for constructing and preserving upward of 1,600 affordable units throughout New York.
HCR also provided LIHTC equity and subsidy for GGV’s 70-unit fully affordable senior housing project in Greenburgh, N.Y. Having demolished six 1972-completed buildings before construction, the developer opened Manhattan Avenue Senior Apartments this year.
