Phelps House

Organization Name: Goddard Riverside

Project Title: Phelps House

Project Location: 595 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024

Project Description:
Goddard Riverside Community Center’s Phelps House is a 169-unit affordable housing complex for seniors located at 595 Columbus Avenue. Phelps House has historically provided affordable, subsidized housing and services for low-income adults in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, serving the community’s residents at its full-service Senior Center. In late 2019, Goddard Riverside, along with Rockabill Consulting, engaged Merchants Capital to provide $66M in permanent preservation financing for Phelps House – this new long-term financing enables Goddard to keep the units affordable to tenants while also continuing to provide them with quality housing by making capital improvements, including plumbing and accessibility upgrades. Phelps House was designed as an independent living residence with one and two-bedroom apartments for older adults and people with mobility impairments, offering a range of supportive housing services for its tenants.

Community Impact:
This transaction enabled Goddard Riverside to preserve 169-units of affordable senior housing for the long term in one of NYC’s most expensive neighborhoods. In keeping with Goddard’s mission to provide housing and services to residents and community members throughout NYC, Goddard Riverside has been at the forefront of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic head on. At Phelps House, Goddard has implemented strict protocols to ensure the safety of its at-risk senior tenants, raising cleaning standards and pivoting to online and outdoor programs and services. Goddard’s work with the NYC Department for the Aging has ensured that all senior tenants receive home-delivered meals and has enabled seniors to continue receiving case management and case assistance via phone. The social service staff has been proactively calling residents to check-in, provide some socialization, and ensure continued care and services during the pandemic. Although Phelps House was forced to close its full-service senior center in the wake of the pandemic, Goddard’s work has ensured continuity of services for seniors and supportive housing residents.

Organization Description:
Goddard Riverside invests in people and strengthens community, serving more than 20,000 people a year on the Upper West Side and throughout New York City with a variety of programs for all ages. As we grow and evolve to meet the needs of the community, we continually strive to partner with the people we serve and treat everyone we encounter with the dignity and respect they deserve. We work within a social justice framework to create a fair and just society where all people have the opportunity to make choices that lead to better lives for their families

Team Members:

Rockabill Consulting, LLC
Merchants Capital
Freddie Mac
NYC HDC
NYC HPD

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