153-19 Jamaica Avenue

Organization Name: BFC, SMJ & New Destiny

Project Title: 153-19 Jamaice Avenue

Project Location: Jamaica, Queens

Project Description:
153-19 Jamaica Avenue will be a 139-unit, mixed-use building offering permanently affordable housing and supportive services for victims of domestic abuse and ground floor commercial space along the prominent shopping corridor of Jamaica Avenue in Queens. The project came to fruition via the acquisition of a distressed commercial property located in a C6-3 district in the Special Downtown Jamaica District. The site is in close proximity to Jamaica’s Rufus King Park, with excellent transportation access to Jamaica Center, which serves the LIRR, as well as the E, J, and Z lines. Working in collaboration with New York State HCR and New York City HPD, the Sponsor team broke ground in late 2018 on the proposed building which will contain 21 floors and a total of 139 units of 100% affordable housing, 5,000 SF of retail space, and will be constructed using Quality Housing.

Community Impact:
The project is being developed through New York State’s Supportive Housing Opportunity Program (SHOP), through which 50% of the units will target housing for survivors/victims of domestic violence. New Destiny Housing Corporation is a partner and will administer and manage these units. New Destiny is an experienced non-profit who has developed and operates over 1,000 supportive housing units for victims of Domestic Violence. They will be responsible for coordinating with this population, as well as providing the services they will need during their residency. The current programming for the amenity spaces will include laundry, kid’s recreation room, fitness room, as well as an outdoor active play space. Additionally, there will be a dedicated community room for the supportive housing tenants, as well as a lobby and offices for the onsite case workers.

Furthermore, the development will be located along Jamaica Avenue, a busy commercial boulevard that serves an important shopping district for many of the surrounding neighborhoods. The property will provide some of the only new-construction retail space on the corridor and will seek to reactivate the western portion of the district.

Organization Description:
BFC has been a developer of affordable and market-rate housing and mixed-use projects in New York City for more than 35 years having completed over $5 Billion in development projects and thousands of units. SMJ is a three-year-old organization dedicated to the development of small to mid-size affordable housing projects owned by Juan Barahona, a 15 -year industry veteran. New Destiny is a New York City nonprofit founded in 1994 to provide housing and services to one of the City’s most vulnerable homeless populations – victims of domestic violence.

Team Members:

GF55 Partners, Skyline Engineering, Severud Associates, Steven Winter Associates, William Vitacco Associates, Wells Fargo