Developers Break Ground On Below-Market Harlem Senior Residence

HARLEM, NY — Construction work on a planned below-market senior housing facility in Harlem began Wednesday as developers broke ground on the West 118th Street site.

The "Victory Plaza" development — product of a partnership between Camber Property Group, Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement and the city Department Housing Preservation and Development and Housing Development Corporation — will bring 136 units of below-market housing for seniors to Harlem, the development team announced.

"HCCI has produced quality affordable housing in Harlem for over 32-years," Malcolm Punter, President and CEO of the Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, said in a statement. "By and large, the production of the Victory Plaza Senior Housing, a core achievement adding 136 units of senior housing to Central Harlem, represents a strategic victory for our community."

The nine-story development will feature on-site social services, indoor and outdoor amenity spaces and gardens that tenants can access, Camber Property Group's Rick Gropper said in a statement.

Units in the building will be offered to individuals and families earning up to 50 percent of the Area Median Income. An Area Median Income of 50 percent is defined by the city as $36,550 for an individual and $56,340 for a family of three. Forty-one of the units at Victory Plaza will be reserved for formerly homeless tenants, developers said.

Developing Victory Plaza is expected to cost $65 million and is being funded by both private and public sources. The city Housing Development Corporation is contributing $46 million in tax exempt bonds and subsidy, HPD is contributing $7 million in subsidy and Wells Fargo is contributing $26 million in equity generated from the sale of Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

Construction is expected to be complete by December 2020.