Jonathan Rose, Malkin Begin Phase III of Stamford Housing Project

Groundbreaking for Metro Green III. (left to right: Vin Tufo, executive director & CEO, Charter Oak Communities; Joseph Geraci, managing director, Citi; Mayor David Martin; Jonathan Rose, president, Jonathan Rose Cos.; Anthony Malkin, chairman & president, Peter Malkin, chairman emeritus, Malkin Holdings; Ann Soja, president, First Sterling Financial Inc.; Commissioner Evonne Klein, Connecticut Department of Housing; and State Senator Carlo Leone.)

Stamford, Conn.–Jonathan Rose Cos. and Malkin Holdings have broken ground on the third and final phase of a mixed-income housing project that’s been in the works for more than 10 years in Stamford. Construction has begun on Metro Green III, a 131-unit green housing development located just one block from the Stamford Train Station.

Because of its proximity to a major regional transit hub, the development is considered to be located in a “Smart Growth” Neighborhood, David McCarthy, senior project manager for Metro Green III, told MHN.

Metro Green III will be an 11-story high-rise that will complete the 231-unit mixed-income development. Currently, Metro Rose Residential includes 100 units of mixed-income housing that was completed in two phases in 2009 and 2011.

In addition to being transit oriented, a Smart Growth Neighborhood is walkable, has a park nearby, and “a healthy mix of jobs, schools and other resources that are easy to get to, ” Jonathan F.P. Rose, president of Jonathan Rose Cos., told MHN. The development certainly meets the criteria as it’s within walking distance of a Fairway grocery store, dry cleaner, restaurant and cafes, and the Stamford central business district, McCarthy said.

Metro Green III will  offer studio, one- and two-bedroom units with 58 market-rate apartments and 73 units for those with incomes from 50 to 60 percent of area median income.

A rendering of Metro Green III

“The range of housing affordability is especially critical for the many long-time neighborhood of Stamford residents who have been driven from their housing by rising rents in recent years,” McCarthy said. “The South End neighborhood, in which Metro Green III is situated, has added over 2,000 units of luxury housing in the last 10 years, new office buildings, and new retail developments and restaurants.”

Metro Green III will also achieve LEED for Homes Certification and will contribute to the site’s overall LEED Neighborhood Development “Gold” certification.

The overall Metro Green Residential development includes a 1-acre landscaped courtyard and a variety of amenities. Metro Green III will specifically offer a fitness center, Wi-Fi lounge, rooftop terrace and an entertaining kitchen. The courtyard serves all phases of the development and will be getting additional landscaping and seating areas, a playground and a resident garden.

Rose also pointed to local, city and state support as the reason this project has been successful, adding that the city and state provided funding and approvals for the project.

Financing for the $52 million Metro Green III development was arranged through private and public funding, including: Housing Trust Funds from the State of Connecticut Department of Housing; “fee-in-lieu” funds contributed from private developers to the city of Stamford as part of the city’s Inclusionary Housing program; HOME funds from the U.S. Department of HUD; a low-interest subordinate loan from Citi; tax-exempt financing issued through a collaboration with Charter Oak Communities; and 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credits allocated by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and purchased by JP Morgan Chase through First Sterling Financial.

The development is planned for completion inJune 2017. Malkin originally acquired the 5.2-acre former brownfield site more than 30 years ago, and has since gone through zoning changes, several city administrations, and myriad local, state and federal agencies that’ve provided funding support.

This green, mixed-income community is just one of its kind that Jonathan Rose Cos. has underway. By the end of June, the developer will open Third and Valley, a 215-green apartment community in South Orange, N.J., which is adjacent to the train station and downtown, Rose explained. The company is also building The Caesura, a green mixed-use, mixed-income community in Brooklyn.

This summer, Jonathan Rose will also begin construction on The Pierrepont, an 80/20 project in Brooklyn Heights in partnership with Bedrock LLC, and Portner Flats, a 100 percent green affordable project in Washington, D.C., in partnership with Somerset Development.

Photo by Elena Leschenko/StrayDogCafePhotography, Rendering courtesy of Perkins Eastman