Newsfeed Categories
Community CornerFundingNew York StateNew York CityFederalResearchPressMember NewsOpeningsGroundbreakingsNetwork Events
Breaking Ground and Comunilife Open Supportive Housing at La Central
Nov.05.2019
On the morning of Oct. 29th, local and state government representatives, funding and development partners, and community members gathered in the Bronx for Breaking Ground and Comunilife’s ribbon-cutting at the transformational La Central development. The partners opened a 161-unit affordable/supportive housing residence, which includes 97 supportive units specifically for individuals who are formerly homeless and/or living with HIV/AIDS.
Services for the UnderServed and Bronx Pro Group Partner for Jerome Avenue Apartments
Nov.01.2019
On the brisk morning of October 25th, state and local elected officials, funding partners, and community members joined Services for the UnderServed (S:US) and Bronx Pro Group to herald construction for Jerome Ave. Apartments. It is the first housing groundbreaking within the Jerome Avenue Neighborhood Plan, an initiative to revitalize the Jerome Avenue corridor. Out of a total 175 affordable units, 105 will also be supportive units for formerly homeless individuals and families.
The project will be a “radical transformation and improvement of this site,” according to Arlo Chase, Senior Vice President of Real Estate & Property Development at S:US, who kicked off the event’s program. He explained the site’s history: S:US took over a neighborhood eyesore – colorfully referred to as a “hot sheets motel” – and turned it into Jerome Court, housing for individuals living with HIV/AIDS, at a time when such support was still uncommon. He said Jerome Ave. Apartments would expand on that honorable legacy.
DePaul Transforms Abandoned Building into Supportive Housing in Village of Perry
Oct.30.2019
On Oct. 10th, alongside local and state officials and supporters, DePaul celebrated the opening of Knitting Mill Apartments – a beautiful new 48-unit supportive/affordable residence on the grounds of a former knitting mill. Thirty-four apartments are for formerly homeless, disabled individuals – including 12 designed for people with a mental health diagnosis, 10 apartments for frail and physically disabled seniors, and two for those with hearing and visual impairments. The remaining apartments are set-aside for low-income individuals and families from the area.
The Network Celebrates Supportive Housing Heroes at 2019 Awards Gala
Oct.24.2019
On October 23rd, the supportive housing community came out for a fabulous party, dedicated to looking back at our proudest moments over the year and honoring our greatest advocates.
Over 600 people filled the grand Capitale in New York City to reconnect and meet new colleagues in a festive environment. Attendees saw themselves on the big screen with a slideshow displaying a year’s worth of events, groundbreakings, ribbon-cuttings, and more. The evening was also for honoring key individuals with awards that recognized their enormous role in protecting vulnerable New Yorkers through supportive housing.
Bronx Pro Group and Services for the UnderServed, 2019 Partnership of the Year
Oct.23.2019
Persistence, shared values, and celebration of each other’s strengths – this is how close relationships are often described. This year, the Network honors two organizations who have cultivated these very things to build homes, earning them the inaugural Partnership of the Year Award.
“It was like love at first sight,” said Donna Colonna, CEO of Services for the UnderServed (S:US).
The organizations officially “met” in 2000, when Samantha Magistro, Managing Director of Bronx Pro Group, attended an S:US housewarming. Samantha was struck by S:US incredible work. After tours of each other’s properties, “it was clear that we had the right ingredients for a good partnership.” Their first joint venture (JV) was also Bronx Pro Group’s first: 1070 Washington Avenue.
“They were steeped in and respected by the community,” was one of Donna’s earliest observations about Bronx Pro Group. The two partners bonded over a shared, deep commitment to the Bronx community, which paved the way for subsequent JV projects at 3361 3rd Avenue and 2264 Morris Avenue.
Learning together through both success and challenge has been a pillar of the partnership. “It’s not like everything has been a bed of roses,” said Samantha about the inevitable obstacles in building supportive housing, “but we figure it out together.” The relationship sits on a foundation of trust, built on understanding of each other’s unique priorities and perspectives. Now, they are at the “next level” of their relationship, with 50-50 split ownership of all projects moving forward.
They are a “posterchild for interagency cooperation,” said Jane Silverman, Executive Director at Chase, about the partners at their most recent housewarming on Morris Avenue in the Bronx this past spring.
When S:US wanted to redevelop their huge Starhill property as a mixed-use, mixed-income project they put out an RFP, and Bronx Pro’s proposal won! Donna was unsurprised: “When you find the right partner, the projects are better, both short term and long term. You can do more together, have more of an impact, and expand your capacity.” Starhill will be the partners’ seventh joint venture, with more than 500 supportive housing units.
“You can have a partnership where you’re just building buildings, and that’s great,” said Donna. “But we could tell from the start that this was going to be more than that.”
Bronx Pro Group and S:US have inspired us with a partnership as strong as the bedrock beneath the Bronx. We are thrilled to honor them with the Partnership of the Year Award.