Harlem High-Rise Conversion For Homeless, Low-Income Families Set

HARLEM, NY — Local housing nonprofit Breaking Ground is about to start construction on the high-rise at 1760 Third Ave., which will convert the 19-story building into 435 affordable apartments for low-income and formerly homeless people.

In the latest configuration of the building — which was first a college dorm for CUNY, and then a migrant shelter in June 2023 — the nonprofit will reserve 261 units for formerly homeless people, Brenda Rosen, Breaking Ground's president and CEO, said.

The remaining 174 units will be set aside for low-income people at or below 60 percent of the area median income, Rosen said.

Construction is set to begin in early February and will last anywhere from 18 to 24 months, meaning the building could be fully operational as early as August 2026, Rosen said.

The construction will be largely inside the building, according to plans.

"The need for affordable housing for low-income individuals — and obviously for those who are homeless — is dire, and to have the opportunity to use an underutilized site to produce so many units at one time is just a rare and fantastic opportunity," Rosen told Patch.

The nonprofit acquired the building — situated in Harlem just a block from the Upper East Side between East 97th and 98th streets — for $172 million in late June, Rosen said.

Breaking Ground secured a $128 million mortgage from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development for the purchase.

Since the site used to function as a dorm for college students, the apartments now need to be refreshed for families and fitted with kitchenettes, Rosen said.

The apartments will take on a more modern look, with light floors, silver kitchen appliances, white subway-tile kitchen backsplashes, and porcelain floor tiles in the bathrooms, according to renderings provided by Breaking Ground.

In addition to the apartments, the building will also be outfitted with amenities like a community gathering space that will host activities and workshops, a fitness center, a computer room, and a medical suite, as well as office space for Breaking Ground's property management and social services, Rosen said.

Though tenant applications are at least a year from launching on New York City's affordable housing portal, Rosen said Breaking Ground expects to give at least some level of preference to applicants already based in the neighborhood.

Breaking Ground, established in 1990, manages nearly 4,000 housing units throughout New York City, as well as properties in upstate New York and Connecticut.

Breaking Ground's programs and services focus on assisting people experiencing street homelessness, particularly those who have been homeless for extended periods, to transition indoors.

The Wells Fargo Foundation contributed $500,000 toward providing furnishings for the homes and common areas, as well as a computer room and fitness area, Krissy Moore, senior vice president of northeast community relations at Wells Fargo, told Patch.

"Quality affordable housing is certainly linked to economic stability, it's linked to generational wealth and it's linked to overall well-being, so that is why the new development in Harlem is so important for New Yorkers," Moore told Patch.

"Access to an affordable place to call home is something that everyone should have."

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.