Seven Townhomes

Organization Name: MHACY/Enterprise

Project Title: Seven Townhomes

Project Location: Yonkers, NY

Project Description:
With financing closed in November 2017, the project involves the rehabilitation of 204 units of public housing through the Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD), with financing secured from Enterprise Housing Credit Investments, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan Chase. The units make up Seven Townhomes, comprised of seven scattered sites formerly in the portfolio of the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers. The units are spread across seven sites, with 3 one-bedroom units, 161 two-bedroom units and 40 three-bedroom units. A maintenance building at one of the sites was converted into four new units for a total of 204 units. Building improvements include, across all units, new interior finishes (kitchens, baths, and flooring), new heating and cooling systems, new windows, and replacement of 10 of 41 existing roofs. The improvements include several green features and comply with NY State’s Housing Finance Agency’s Mandatory Green & Energy Conservation Certification program. This is the first major renovation of the townhomes since they were built in 1994, and will ensure the units continue to meet health and environmental standards and maintain a high quality of living for tenants.

Community Impact:
This renovation will ensure the long-term affordability for the townhomes and further the city of Yonkers’ commitment to fair housing. Settlement of the landmark case against segregated government housing brought by HUD required the City to build 200 new affordable units and “scatter” them throughout the east side of Yonkers, a predominantly middle- and upper-class part of the city. The use of the townhome model for the design of the buildings positioned the properties to blend in among neighboring single family homes. This makes Seven Townhomes a departure from MHACY’s other public housing properties, which in part consisted of large, densely-populated elevator buildings, concentrated on the city’s west side. All sites are in mixed-use neighborhoods that are primarily residential with retail focused on nearby commercial corridors. The sites have access to retail, services, and transportation within two miles and are well-served by public transportation. The rehabilitation substantially improves the appearance and livability of these units, including mitigation of health risks. This project is the first step in MHACY’s larger plan to transform more than 1800 public and affordable units across Yonkers.

Organization Description:
The Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers is committed to redeveloping, managing and administering its housing stock within the City to provide low-income families, the elderly and disabled individuals with access to sustainable housing. Enterprise Community Partners is a national nonprofit dedicated to ending housing insecurity. Enterprise invests capital to create and preserve quality affordable homes for low- and moderate-income people, develop programmatic solutions, and scale these solutions through policy change.

Team Members:

The Mulford Corporation, Koob & Magoolaghan, The Fresnel Group, DOMO Consulting, Reno & Cavanaugh, Touchstone Builders, Warshauer Melussi Warshauer, NYS HCR, JP Morgan Chase

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