Apex JV Secures $218M for Brooklyn Affordable Project
This is the third phase of a 2,600-unit master-planned development.
Apex Building Group and L+M Development, together with RiseBoro Community Partnership and Services for the Underserved, have obtained $217.8 million for the third phase of Alafia, a fully affordable, wellness-oriented master-planned community in Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood. New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, Redstone Bank and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group provided the financing package, according to Traded.
Alafia Phase III will feature 273 affordable housing units across two six-story buildings, alongside a 1-acre public park including a fitness loop, a playground and several courtyards. Groundbreaking is expected in 2027, Passive House Accelerator revealed, with completion slated for 2029.
Alafia in six acts
Designed by Dattner Architects, Alafia is a six-phase development part of the state’s $1.4 billion Vital Brooklyn Initiative. The 576-unit Phase I broke ground in 2022 and came online in December 2025, while the second phase is still under construction.
At full build-out, the community will encompass some 2,600 apartments across 11 buildings, with an additional 50,000 square feet of commercial and community space, a medical and senior center and 20,000 square feet of urban agricultural space.
All apartments cater to households earning up to 70 percent of the area median income. In addition, all residential buildings are constructed according to passive house standards.
READ ALSO: Affordable Housing Trends
Alafia is rising on the former 27-acre site of the Brooklyn Developmental Center at 888 Fountain Ave., across the street from the Gateway Center shopping mall. The nearby Belt Parkway connects the development to JFK Airport, 5 miles southwest.
New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is expected to generate $97 million in equity for Alafia, while the State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program will contribute with $14 million in equity, $57 million in tax-exempt bonds and $66 million in subsidy. NYS HCR has also contributed with $387 million to Alafia Phase I and with $326 million in state bonds and subsidies to Phase II, according to New York YIMBY.
More affordable housing development in NYC
Elevated construction costs and interest rates, together with declining tax credit pricing, have altered the national development landscape for affordable housing. As a result, construction starts in 2025 amounted to 81,230 units, a figure trailing behind 2024’s volume totaling 85,662 units and even more behind 2023’s peak of 94,873 units, according to a recent Yardi Matrix report.
However, affordable housing deliveries across New York City are expected to rise 41.4 percent compared to 2025, the same report shows, from 2,810 residences brought online last year to a projected 3,973 through the end of this year.
