YONKERS, NY - As the nation confronts the most challenging economic climate in recent history, Yonkers remains steadfast in its commitment to produce affordable housing, to rebuild entire neighborhoods, and to make a positive difference in our community. With Monday's official opening of the Croton Heights Apartments, this is a good time to recognize that affordable housing has a strong multiplier effect, benefitting our city's hard working individual families and the broader community. The creation of affordable housing provides jobs as well as shelter, encouraging stability as well as new investments.
As Yonkers marks another milestone to transform and expand affordable housing in our city - both senior and family housing - this is also a time to put to rest the myth that Yonkers has ignored this top priority. Croton Heights, as envisioned by the Amicone administration, received the same high-level support as showpiece projects like Ridge Hill Village, the waterfront revitalization, and the planned redevelopment of the downtown district.
Croton Heights is a $23 million, six-story project with 60 one-, two-, and three-bedroom rental units located on the corner of Vineyard and Ashburton Avenues. Built on the site of an old, disused parking lot formerly owned by the Yonkers Parking Authority, it is a mixed income building whose residents earn no more than 90 percent of the area median income adjusted by family size. Rents will range from $400 to $1,700 depending upon several factors.
To keep apartment rents affordable at Croton Heights, the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency approved incentives for the developer including a real property tax agreement, mortgage tax exemptions, and sales and uses tax exemptions for construction. Beyond the Yonkers IDA, other financing sources include New York State DHCR & HFA, City of Yonkers, Bank of America, Westchester County and the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
It is not easy to create affordable housing. It takes an extraordinary amount of cooperation across a large group of private entities and public authorities. This effort has been lead by the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers (MHA), working closely with the IDA and the Mayor. Croton Heights I, LP the public/private partnership that developed Croton Heights, consists of the MHA, Richman Group Development Corporation of Greenwich Ct. and the Landex Development, LLC of Linthium, Maryland.
Impressive as it is in its own right, Croton Heights represents only the first phase of Yonkers' $180 million Hope VI Revitalization Plan to transform and stabilize the entire Ashburton Avenue corridor. The stakeholders are confident that Croton Heights will be a catalyst for the revitalization of the entire Ashburton Avenue corridor. In November 2007, the IDA approved an incentive package for another development team, Mulford I, L.P., to demolish the long-neglected Mulford Gardens public housing project - a poster child for everything that public housing should not be. The City of Yonkers has committed $20 million in funding and infrastructure for the redevelopment and construction of new housing to commence this spring.
Mulford Gardens will be completely replaced with more than 240 new low-income rental units in a mix of four- and six-story elevator buildings, and three- to four-story garden style apartments and townhouses. Pocket parks, a community building for management staff and meeting space for residents are planned. The pre-construction approval phase is complete, and demolition has already begun.
The Amicone administration's vision of a new Ashburton Avenue residential community with modern affordable-housing stock also can be seen at other locations. Last December, Yonkers celebrated the complete renovation of Whitney Young Manor, 195 affordable-housing units, commercial space, and a Head Start facility, located at 358 Nepperhan Avenue.
At the intersection of Ashburton and Nepperhan Avenues, the $22.4 million Father Pat Carroll Green project is also virtually complete, with 62 two-family units of moderate-income brownstone-style townhouses: one townhouse unit for the owner, the other for a rental tenant to help the owner pay the mortgage.
Affordable housing efforts are by no means limited to the Nepperhan Valley or Ashburton Avenue. With the support of the IDA, the last five years has seen the completion of modernization and renovation programs totaling $80 million at the 181-unit Jackson Terrace Herriot Street complex and at the 311-unit Parkledge complex at 220 Yonkers Avenue.
Affordable housing and economic vitality go hand-in-hand. If we are to sustain our growth, we must retain a mix of housing stock that working families can afford and our older residents can feel secure in. It is a record of which we can all be proud.
Source: LoHud.com