Brooklyn Affordable Project Lands $270M Construction Loan

April 10, 2024

Affordable Housing Development Finance & Investment New York More News Northeast

The initial phase of the Innovative Urban Village development will create 386 units.

Phase 1A of the Innovative Urban Village will feature several community amenities necessary for economic mobility, sustainability and healthy living. *Rendering by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, courtesy of The Gotham Organization*

The Gotham Organization, in a partnership Monadnock Development, the Christian Cultural Center, Reverend A.R. Bernard and New York City & State, obtained $270 million in construction financing for the first phase of the Innovative Urban Village project in New York City’s Brooklyn borough.

The partners plan to transform the existing Christian Cultural Center into a mixed-use urban village. Gotham was chosen as a partner in 2018 following a rigorous RFP process. Over the course of five years, the organizations worked together, engaging with the public, community groups and city officials. This collaboration led to the successful attainment of full ULURP approvals in 2022.

Phase 1A of the project will convert the 10.5-acre campus into 386 affordable units for individuals or families earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income. This stage will also include about 17,000 square feet of neighborhood retail and commercial space.

Designed by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, the Innovative Urban Village master-planned project will comprise approximately 1,975 affordable housing units at full built-out, including around 200 senior housing rentals and 100 homeownership units. The development will rise at 2020 Flatlands Ave., within the East New York submarket.

Beyond housing, the Innovative Urban Village will feature a performing arts center, a grocery store, retail outlets, medical facilities, athletic zones, 2 acres of public open space and a 24/7 childcare facility. A network of walking paths and green spaces will connect the facilities within the development.

Financing for New York City’s affordable sector

The New York State Housing Finance Agency provided for this phase of the Innovative Urban Village project $170 million in tax-exempt bonds and second mortgage subsidy, with the tax-exempt bond portion enhanced during construction by the Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

HPD also provided approximately $47 million in third mortgage subsidy, while the Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs Alternatives will aid more than $143 million of low-income tax credits and brownfield cleanup program equity.

The financing provided through The New York State Housing Finance Agency is part of Governor Kathy Hochul’s $25 billion Housing Plan. The five-year strategy will create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes across the state of New York, including 10,000 with supportive services for vulnerable populations, as well as the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes.

The Governor has recently announced $412 million in bonds and subsidies to expand and protect the housing supply, creating and preserving nearly 1,100 affordable homes in New York City, the Finger Lakes, and the Hudson Valley. Phase 1A of the Innovative Urban Village represents one of the six projects receiving funding allocated through New York State Homes and Community Renewal‘s March 2024 bond issuance, which provided $283 million in tax-exempt housing bonds and $129 million in subsidy.