Slate, RiseBoro Partner on Affordable Brooklyn Project
The developers plan to reserve the majority of the 215 units as supportive housing.
326 Rockaway Ave. Image via Google Street View
A joint venture between Slate Property Group and RiseBoro Community Partnership has acquired a 38,000-square-foot development parcel in Brooklyn with plans to construct an affordable housing community next year. Corporation for Supportive Housing provided acquisition financing.
The 14-story project at 326 Rockaway Ave. will add 215 affordable housing units to the borough, with 60 percent reserved as supportive housing for residents earning below 60 percent of the area median income. The 160,000-square-foot mixed-use property will include facilities offering supportive services, a gym, a laundry room, a community room and 24-hour security. The development will also have 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
The location is 7 miles from Lower Manhattan and within half a mile of the Atlantic Avenue subway station and the East New York station on the Long Island Railroad.
Spurring affordable development
Slate and RiseBoro have partnered with Laborers’ International Union Local 79 to ensure workers are paid living wages during the development process. The owners also plan to utilize union labor once the property is completed: SEIU Local 32BJ members will operate the asset upon delivery.
New York City’s multifamily market has faced challenges over the past year. Rents fell by 12.6 percent over the year in April, according to Yardi Matrix, the largest decline among major metros.
Even with falling rents, however, Brooklyn still faces a dire shortage of affordable units—though some help is on the way. Governor Andrew Cuomo’s $1.4 billion Vital Brooklyn initiative, launched in 2017, continues to make some headway. CAMBA Housing Ventures was selected last summer to develop a supportive housing project in the borough’s Flatbush neighborhood.
