WOMEN'S HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (WHEDCo) TO BUILD BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY, ENERGY-SAVING AND INTERNET-WIRED HOUSING AFFORDABLE TO LOW INCOME NEW YORKERS
Bronx, NY - (April 19, 2006) - The Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDCo) today held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the construction start of Urban Horizons II, a beautiful, "green," and Internet-wired development that will feature 174 apartments affordable to the lowest income New Yorkers, at 1330 Intervale Avenue in the South Bronx.
The new 160,000 square-foot mixed-use development includes 6,800 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, a public sculpture garden and three-quarters of an acre of vegetation including parks and greenroofs.
Urban Horizons II will re-create an elegant representation of an historic Bronx building, while at the same time incorporating 21st century features like high-speed Internet in each apartment and the latest in green building technologies. In a community where asthma rates double the city's average, building with healthy (low volatile organic compounds) materials will affect the entire neighborhood. Green roofs will naturally clean and cool the air. High efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning will reduce greenhouse gases by the equivalent of 400 cars a year; and will save $600,000 annually in utility expenses.
Urban Horizons II is being created by WHEDCo, a nonprofit Bronx-based organization that, in 1997, opened Urban Horizons I, a successful mixed-use economic development center that provides low-income rental apartments as well as social services, youth education, Head Start, adult job training, microenterprise and a commercial kitchen business incubator. This development, which has won multiple national awards, restored what was the abandoned Morrisania Hospital, closed by the City in 1976 and shuttered for over twenty years. WHEDCo is again raising the bar by demonstrating that affordable housing can be beautiful, must be healthy, and should be wired for high-speed Internet access.
"Urban Horizons II is a revolutionary development that has the potential not only to change the landscape, but also to affect thinking about the importance of physical environments in improving the lives of low income families in the Bronx, in New York City, and in the nation," said Nancy Biberman, Founder and Executive Director. "In 1997, Urban Horizons I showed us the power of beauty to inspire and to change lives. People without money have the same aspirations as we all do: lovely homes, clean streets, good schools and safe communities. Creating affordable urban housing that is beautiful, green & wired represents less than 2% of the project's total development cost ($45 million), but the change it will make in the community will be extraordinary."
Urban Horizons II will offer one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom apartments, along with some studios. The project is underwritten so that applicants must earn at or below 60% of area median income, or $42,450 for a family of four. Rents will be set at $660 for a one-bedroom, $794 for a two-bedroom, and $921 for a three-bedroom. A hybrid electric van will link residents of Urban Horizons II (and their neighbors) to the full array of programs available at Urban Horizons I.
Adolfo Carrión, Jr., Borough President of the Bronx said, "I am excited to celebrate the groundbreaking of Urban Horizons II. I am also extremely pleased that WHEDCO is dedicated to building green. Building green in the Bronx is about saving money, and more importantly it helps reduce toxic pollutants in a county with one of the highest asthma rates in the country. WHEDCo has made enormous contributions to the economic well-being of Bronx residents, and has already won awards for its stunning restoration of the abandoned Morrisania Hospital. With Urban Horizons II, WHEDCo is again breaking new ground-bringing broadband Internet into the homes of working families, building beautiful, and building green."
Shaun Donovan, Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development said, "Today we celebrate another affordable housing success in the South Bronx. HPD is delighted to be able to work with WHEDCo and our other partners to put this land, formerly owned by the City, to great use: building green, wired and affordable housing for New Yorkers and helping to further revitalize this community. Providing affordable housing is a key part of Mayor Bloomberg's newly expanded New Housing Marketplace Plan to invest $7.5 billion over ten years to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing, the largest municipal affordable housing plan in the nation's history."
Emily A. Youssouf, President of the New York City Housing Development Corporation said, "The huge level of interest in this and many similar bond offerings shows that the private market has come to view the Bronx as a solid investment. It is through sound developments like Urban Horizons II that HDC has become the No. 1 most active issuer of multi-family affordable housing bonds in the nation for two years running."Urban Horizons II will hearken back to historic building types in the Bronx, with a traditional cornice, brick color, cast stone storefronts, awnings and other façade details. Furthermore, with its donation of one and a half tons of high quality tile and stone, Artistic Tile, the leading luxury stone and tile maker, is leading the way for other high-end manufacturers to donate finishes and fixtures. The site includes a pocket park designed as a sculpture garden in collaboration with the Bronx Museum of the Arts that will be visible from the nearby elevated subway station (Freeman Street).
All 174 apartments will be wired for low-cost broadband Internet, providing equal access to information, an essential tool for low-income New Yorkers to enter and succeed in the economic mainstream.
WHEDCo has assembled, for Urban Horizons II, $45 million in financing from various public and private sources. $6 million comes from the sale of tax-exempt bonds issued by New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), for which Citibank Community Development issued a Letter of Credit. Additional financing came from: HDC's Low Income Affordable Marketplace Program ($19.6 million); New York City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Mixed Income Rental Program ($7.5 million); and, federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits ($16.8 million), which are being syndicated by Richman Housing Resources, Inc. An addition $7 million will be provided from HPD's Supportive Housing Loan Program and additional tax credits. Greenbuilding grants come from the Energy Star Multifamily Program through New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), as well as The Enterprise Foundation's Green Communities initiative, The Home Depot Foundation, and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, Jr., through his Bronx Initiative for Energy and the Environment. The project has also been awarded a $1.5 million capital appropriation from the New York City Council.
The buildings were designed by Edelman Sultan Knox & Wood, Architects and Peter Franzese, P.E. and A. Billie Cohen Ltd. designed the greenroof. Steven Winter Associates consulting on the greenbuilding features, and One Economy designing the high-speed data network.
About WHEDCo
WHEDCo is a nonprofit Bronx-based organization dedicated to the economic advancement of low-income women and families through the creation of beautiful physical environments and uniquely integrated social services that address the interlocking social, emotional and systemic problems associated with poverty. Founded in 1991, together with a grassroots coalition of community women and a local school's Parents' Association, WHEDCO rescued the abandoned Hospital, assembling $23 million in financing to restore the building to its former glory, and spearheading a successful effort to build a new bilingual public school. The award-winning Urban Horizons Economic Development Center opened to national attention in 1997; the building includes 132 units of affordable housing, along with a community economic development center offering: