Categories: New York City, Openings
06.09.2022
On June 9th, RiseBoro Community Partnership, joined project and government partners to celebrate the opening of a new affordable/supportive housing development, 50 Penn. Located in Cypress Hills, the residence will create 218 new affordable apartments, including 42 supportive units for formerly homeless seniors. RiseBoro will provide on-site services funded by the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI).
The development was designed to address key priorities listed in the East New York Neighborhood Plan, such as affordable housing, access to fresh food choices and community-wide benefits. Building amenities include a fitness center, a community room, bike storage, and an on-site laundry room. The ground floor is anchored by a 18,500 square foot grocery store as part of the NYC Department of City Planning FRESH program, which supports convenient, accessible grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods. The two remaining street front retail spaces will be leased as one of the first developments to pilot the East New York Retail Preservation Program, which is intended to preserve opportunities for longstanding East New York businesses to operate within the boundaries of the rezoned neighborhood at rents that facilitate the ability to source their workforce from within the community and provide job training and benefits.
New York City Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz said, “Mixed-use developments like 50 Penn are important steps forward in tackling our housing shortage and providing communities with the local amenities and resources everyone should have outside their door.”
New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Dan Garodnick stated, “This is an example of good planning policy leading to real benefits. This project not only creates affordable homes for families of a variety of sizes and incomes, but also access to healthy foods. We need this.”
“We are thrilled to be part of 50 Penn, delivering on the promise of community priorities identified in the East New York Neighborhood Plan,” said Scott Short, CEO of RiseBoro Community Partnership. “The project not only provides urgently needed mixed-use and mixed-income housing units, but also meets many of the other community demands, including deep affordability, advancing local economic opportunity and food justice.
Regional Vice President of New York at Pennrose Dylan Salmons, said, “Pennrose is proud to work alongside HPD, HDC, and RiseBoro to address key quality of life issues in the neighborhood through transformative, mixed-use housing.” He added “With high-quality affordable housing, tailored supportive services, community-sourced retail and grocery space, 50 Penn signifies the changing fabric of the neighborhood and will be a benefit to East New Yorkers for many years to come.”
Ruth Moreira, Executive Vice President for Development, New York City Housing Development Corporation; Melinda Perkins, District Manager, Brooklyn Community Board 5; Renee Casertano, Vice President, Citi Community Capital; Timothy I. Henkel, President, Pennrose, LLC; and Scott Short, CEO, RiseBoro Community Partnership also spoke.
Financing for this project came from HDC and HPD’s ELLA programs, former New York City Council Member Rafael L. Espinal Jr., Redstone Equity Partners, and Citi Community Capital.
The developer is Pennrose, the general contractor is Mega Contracting and the architect is Dattner Architects.
https://www.pennrose.com/portfolio/50-penn/
https://www.dattner.com/projects/view/50-penn-2/