County Executive Robert P. Astorino joined other officials at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, June 5 to celebrate the completion of two fair and affordable housing developments in Yonkers.
The apartments, now occupied, are the latest phase of the City of Yonkers' development of the Ashburton Avenue corridor and the HOPE VI Revitalization Project.
The total cost for the two developments – Grant Park and Park Terrace – is about $65 million, of which $4.9 million was contributed by Westchester County.
"Together, these two developments provide 149 needed affordable housing units – 49 for seniors and 100 for families," said Astorino. "The county is pleased to have played a part in developing this housing and revitalizing this Yonkers community."
Park Terrace at Croton Heights, is a four-story elevator building at 110 Ashburton Avenue that has 49 one-bedroom rental apartments for seniors age 62 and older. Park Terrace is fully handicapped accessible, has a community room, on-site laundry and incorporates "green" energy-saving standards into its design.
Grant Park at Croton Heights is a four building complex that provides 100 one-, two- and three-bedroom rental apartments. The development features a community clubhouse, computer room, a fitness center and an on-site management office. The Grant Park complex is built on the site of the now-demolished Mulford Gardens Public Housing complex. The 550-unit Mulford Gardens, built in 1939, was among the county's oldest public housing.
The county funds included Housing Implementation Funds (HIF) for the construction of infrastructure improvements: $3.4 million for Grant Park, and $1.5 million for the Park Terrace Apartments. Additional funding was provided by the City of Yonkers, through federal and state grants, Low Income Housing Tax Credits and private equity sources.
The apartments of both projects are available for rental to qualified households earning at or below 60 percent of Westchester's Annual Median Income, currently $64,740 for a family of four. They will remain fair and affordable housing for at least 50 years.
None of these units count towards the requirements of the county's housing settlement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That 2009 agreement require the development of 750 units of fair and affordable housing in 31 communities; Yonkers is not one of the "eligible" communities in the agreement.
In 2008, the first phase of the revitalization project was completed, which included Park Vista, a 60-unit affordable rental community at 191 Ashburton Avenue. When the entire HOPE VI multi-phase redevelopment is completed, approximately 364-units of affordable housing will have been built. The federal HOPE VI funds are made available to replace aging public housing.