Affordable Senior Housing Opens in NYC
The Williamsburg community is located in a highly walkable area.
Debevoise Senior Housing. Image courtesy of The Arker Cos.
A partnership between The Arker Cos., the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Jewish Association Serving the Aging has opened the 64-unit Debevoise Senior Housing affordable community, in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood.
Located at 40 Debevoise St., the senior community is situated within a highly walkable area, within half a mile from many dining and retail options, including Green Corner Fish & Farmers Market, a Walgreens and a good number of quick-service restaurants. Woodhull Medical Center and Ahava Medical & Rehabilitation Urgent Care Center are within feet of the community.
Designed by Aufgang Architects, the affordable community has 46 studios and 19 one-bedroom units. Each unit features large windows overlooking the outdoor community space, which offers active and relaxing areas. An indoor recreation center with direct access to the outdoor one is also available. Other amenities include a recreation room and a bike storage area. The ground floor encompasses 6,603 square feet of retail space.
Fully affordable in an unaffordable area
The city’s Voluntary Inclusionary Housing and the Senior Affordable Rental Apartments programs financed the project. All units will be set aside for seniors, with 20 being reserved for formerly homeless seniors. Moreover, all units are covered by a project-based Section 8 contract which allows tenants to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. Income levels are also capped, at 50 percent of the area median income.
JASA will offer on-site support through coordination, benefit and entitlement assistance, crisis intervention, recreational and health promotion activities and health literacy educational programs.
Last month, another The Arker Cos. partnership completed a $425 million redevelopment project for an affordable community in Brooklyn.
