Categories: New York City, Member News, Openings
10.27.2021
Friends, partners and elected gathered on the terrace of the new Arthur Avenue Apartments in the Bronx to celebrate the opening of the new affordable/supportive building, now home to 176 low-income seniors including 54 who had been homeless.
The beautiful modern building embodies “a vision” built around healthy living as Jeff Fox of Foxy Management said in his opening remarks: there is a green wall in the building’s lobby, two terraces, a greenhouse, a teaching kitchen, two terraces, and a gym in addition to a reading room with a fireplace and the usual amenities of common space, on-site laundry and office space for case managers.
Daniel Reingold, President and CEO of RiverSpring Living, the parent organization of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale said, “Everyone deserves a safe and dignified place in live.”
Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin said, “This is where we need to go…housing with wrap-around services,” stating that New York needs more residences like Arthur Avenue Apartments.
HCR Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas noted that Covid had shown us how vital housing is for health and marveled at the building’s amenities encouraging active and healthy living.
Council Member Rafael Salamanca said simply, “this is responsible development: it provides homes to people in the neighborhood.”
But, as in most ribbon cuttings the star of the ceremony was Arthur Avenue Apartments tenant Nadia King who had been living in a shelter prior to being placed at Arthur Avenue: “I got the call telling me I’d gotten the apartment on my BIRTHDAY! I couldn’t have gotten a better gift. This is my home…I won the LOTTO!”
Capital funding for Arthur Avenue Apartments came from the National Housing Trust Fund, NYS Homes and Community Renewal, NYC Housing Preservation and Development, as well as funding from Council Member Salamanca. JPMorgan Chase provided the letter of credit and Boston Financial was the tax credit syndicator. Pre-development funding was provided by the Low Income Investment Fund. Services funding came from NYS Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative.
Arthur Avenue Apartments was constructed by Lendlease and designed by SLCE Architects.
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