In response to New York city’s housing crisis, the City of
New York’s Cornerstone Program transferred vacant city-owned land to select private developers. Thorobird joint venture partner Genesis Companies was one of those developers. Included in the designation were three parcels intended for affordable rental housing.
Situation
The designation included three sites totaling 11,200 square feet of land. The lots are located in an area zoned C1-4/R8A indicating that the site could pursue contain high-density residential use with a commercial overlay. In addition, the lots are located in the south central Harlem corridor, long viewed as ripe for renewal. Fueled by the A, B, C and D subway lines that run beneath it, the has gained momentum from new restaurants and businesses. Recent arrivals include a Starbucks, a Dunkin’ Donuts and a Chase bank and Starwood Hotels will open a midpriced boutique-style hotel in May at Frederick Douglass Boulevard and West 124th Street. However, urban renewal has historically displaced poor and minority residents. The Genesis Thorobird team sought to create quality affordable housing to empower existing residents and strengthen the community.
Development
Genesis Thorobird set into motion a multi-million dollar ground-up development program in an effort to transform
the vacant lots into affordable, green and representative
living spaces for the existing community. The development team settled on a concept that consisted of approximately
103 thousand square feet of mixed-use affordable housing
and 85 affordable housing units. One of the three buildings has been set aside for tenants at the lower end of the affordable income range. In addition approximately four thousand square feet is devoted to various community uses and just over two thousand square feet is devoted to a smart retail use designed to create jobs and stimulate the local economy. Further, our team designed a capital structure that offered investors impressive returns, provided banks adequate downside protection and fully leveraged government subsidies.
