NYCHA picks three private developers to build on public land

The de Blasio administration is set to announce BFC Partners, Dunn Development and the West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing as the private developers that will construct nearly 500 affordable and senior apartments on three properties leased from the New York City Housing Authority.

The city has selected BFC to build a 16-story building holding 145 apartments, for people aged 62 and older, at the Ingersoll Houses in Fort Greene; Dunn to build a 13-story building holding 188 units at the Van Dyke Houses in Brownsville; and the West Side Federation to build a nine-story, 156-unit building also catering to seniors at the Mill Brook Houses in the South Bronx.

The buildings will rise up to 16 stories and hold a combined 489 apartments serving households earning between 20 to 60 percent of area median income, or $12,700 to $38,100 per year for one person, according to the New York Times.

NYCHA will lease the land for the developers under 60-year leases that guarantee affordability for the length of the term. Public housing residents in the city will get preference for a quarter of the units, while amenities at the housing projects will include rooftop gardens, community centers, preschool education and an urgent care center.

The city’s plan to allow private developers to build on publicly owned land has faced criticism from local stakeholders and politicians, though the all-affordable buildings are expected to bring in up to $200 million in fees from the developers for the next 10 years.

Yet NYCHA is also set to use publicly owned parcels for buildings in which half of the units would be designated as market-rate apartments. [NYT] – Rey Mashayekhi