Green Affordable Housing Project Breaks Ground in Stamford

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorStamford, Conn.–Jonathan Rose Companies, a New York-based real estate development, planning, consulting and investment firm, and New York-based W&M Properties, a real estate management, marketing and acquisition firm, broke ground today on Metro Green Apartments, a 50-unit LEED-certified affordable housing project.The project is the first phase of the 238-unit Metro Green Residential, a mixed-use transit-oriented development of mixed-income rentals and for-sale units. The project is a candidate for LEED New Construction and Neighborhood Development gold certification.Located at the Stamford Transportation Center, the project provides a pedestrian link to the Stamford Metro North Train Station.”Metro Green Apartments is a mixed-use, mixed income, green project one block away from a major transit center and within walking distance to thousands of jobs,” says says Jonathan Rose, president of Jonathan Rose Companies. “It’s not only the right solution for society, its the right solution for the market. With high gas prices, the market is clamoring for walkable/transit oriented communities.” The development will include a rainwater harvesting system, a high-performance building envelop with a roof that reduces the heat-island effect, energy-efficient mechanical systems and a high-performance roof and insulation system. Additionally, the project will offer a parking garage with a green roof.Each unit will be metered for electricity to provide additional savings to residents.  In addition, it will be constructed with many recycled and low-VOC materials.The site will also include a 17-story, 350,000-sq.-ft. LEED Platinum candidate office tower adjacent to the residences.The development is a pilot project under the new LEED Neighborhood Design Gold level criteria.”Metro Green apartments was designed to meet LEED Gold standards, as well as to exceed the Enterprise Green Community Guidelines,” says Rose. “The City of Stamford has an affordable housing standard–most developers pay to have the housing built off-site. We are not only building affordable housing on site, but we are building twice as much as was required by the statute.”Financing for the project was provide by JPMorgan Chase, GE Capital, The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and the City of Stamford.