Categories: New York City, Member News, Groundbreakings
12.06.2024
On a blustery December 5th, Samaritan Daytop Foundation and Samaritan Daytop Village (SDV) along with supporters and partners celebrated breaking ground on Highbridge, a 316-unit supportive/affordable building alongside a 106-unit family shelter. Highbridge is SDV’s first new construction fully supportive residence with 190 supportive units for individuals and families and 125 affordable apartments. Samaritan Daytop Village will provide onsite supportive services to tenants under the NYC 15/15 Initiative funded by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
SDV President and CEO Mitchell Netburn welcomed attendees and, as the wind threatened to blow down the tent, commented ‘we’ll get press one way or another’. He thanked the myriad stakeholders in the audience who have been working with the organization for the past six years. But he took care to note that ‘this project would not have happened without Jerry Mascuch.” He recounted pitching the project to Jerry six years earlier who, to Mitchell’s surprise, said yes.
Adolfo Carrion Jr, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)followed, noting that the groundbreaking was happening on the same day as the City Council was scheduled to vote on the City of Yes. “Never have I heard so much about the need for affordable housing; the coincidence is phenomenal. People of this community deserve this housing.”
Commissioner Barbara Guinn of the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) Homeless Housing and Assistance Corp. spoke next saying how pleased OTDA was to be a part of the project’s financing having contributed OTDA’s largest single grant under the Homeless Housing and Assistance Program: $15 million. She congratulated all the city and state entities that had made the project possible, ending with “Highbridge will be a wonderful place to call home.”
Lauren Connors, Senior VP for Development under NYC Housing Development Corp. (HDC) echoed the sentiment of pride in being part of this impactful project. She also noted the building’s spectacular views of Manhattan and the Highbridge.
NYC Department of Homeless Services’ (DSS) Tina Alzadon spoke next apologizing for her former skepticism as to whether the project would actually get built. She applauded SVP for including a much-needed purpose-built family shelter in the project plans and commented that DHS could be a leader in creating responsible solutions to homelessness.
Sean Mulderrig, of NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) applauded Highbridge for its plan to hew to Passive House standards and noted that Highbridge had won NYSERDA’s Buildings of Excellence Competition’s Blue Ribbon Design award.
Citi Community Capital’s Richard Gerwitz pointed out the complexity of the deal involving 10 different funding streams
Levticus Fund’s Executive Director Greg Maher was the event’s last speaker, noting that Leviticus, too, had made its largest pre-development loan ever to Highbridge because when the nuns created the Fund more than 30 years ago, their focus was on social and economic justice “and this is exactly the kind of project they envisioned.”
Highbridge will feature rooftop outdoor recreation spaces, community spaces, walking trails and landscaping, on-site laundry and 24/7 security. The site will have more than 100 staff providing services to both the permanent and transitional residents.
Funding for Highbridge came from HPD, HDC, DSS, OTDA’s Homeless Housing Assistance Corp, Richman Housing Resources, Citibank, Leviticus Fund, the Down Payment Assistance Fund and Deutsche Bank.
Magnusson Architecture and Planning (MAP) is designing the building and Mega Contracting is building it.