Construction to Start on The Willow at Ridgeway Senior Housing

YONKERS, NY- (December 2024) -- Mulford Corporation and The Community Builders (TCB) announced construction will commence for development of The Willow at the Ridgeway, the sixth and final phase of the transformative redevelopment of the former Cottage Place Gardens public housing complex into The Ridgeway, a mixed-income community of choice.

“After 15 years of dedication, collaboration, planning, and execution, TCB is proud to close on the capstone phase of the Ridgeway with our development partners at Yonkers Housing Authority and the Mulford Corporation,” said Jesse Batus, Senior Vice President for Development at The Community Builders, Inc. “It has taken the work of so many to achieve this milestone, and my heartfelt thanks and congratulations go out to our incredible financial partners, stakeholders, and residents as we reflect on this long journey. We look forward to celebrating together when we open doors at The Willow in 2026,” he added.

Willow will be located at 23 Bishop W.J. Walls Place, replacing 2 vacant public housing buildings with a new 8-story, all-electric, 100% affordable building with 92 units for seniors. All apartments will be designed for an aging population and reserved for seniors referred to by the Yonkers Housing Authority Section 8 waitlist. The unit mix includes 85 1BR units and 7 2BR units, with average unit sizes of 550 and 800 sq ft, respectively. Thirty-one units are reserved for households at or below 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI), 29 units are reserved for households at or below 50% AMI, and 32 units are reserved for households at or below 60% AMI.

Amenities in the apartments will include free resident internet, air-conditioning, electric ranges, and Energy STAR appliances. The building will provide common laundry rooms on each floor, a community room, fitness center, and a resident terrace on the 7th floor with seating and a solar canopy.

Willow is designed to promote aging-in-place for seniors. Tenants will have access to on-site property management, maintenance and resident services and programming. Yonkers Housing Authority, TCB, and Mulford will also cultivate relationships with local partners, such as the Yonkers Office of Aging, to offer additional services through direct referrals. Lastly, the building is transit-orientated, located near multiple bus lines and a train station serving Metro-North and Amtrak lines.

Willow is designed to achieve Passive House Institute US certification, delivering an extremely energy efficient building that also maximizes the health and thermal comfort of its senior residents. By extension, the building will also achieve EPA ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction certification as well as compliance with both DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes and EPA Indoor airPLUS standards.

The building will be all-electric, except for a natural gas-powered emergency generator. A rooftop solar PV array will generate renewable energy to offset the building’s common electricity needs. Willow will also be designed to achieve Enterprise Green Communities certification upon the building’s completion.

Funding for the project is being provided by NYS Housing Finance Agency; NYS Homes and Community Renewal; State of New York Mortgage Agency; NYS Department of Environmental Conservation; NYS Empire State Development; RBC Community Investments, LLC; The Bank of New York Mellon; Westchester County; City of Yonkers, Yonkers Housing Authority and Community Capital New York.

The Mulford Corporation: The Mulford Corporation (“Mulford”) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that was formed to develop, manage and facilitate affordable housing in Yonkers, New York. Since its establishment, Mulford has either developed or co-developed over 2,200 units of low-income housing and has actively participated in the operation of over nineteen (19) low-income properties. In addition to its development related activities, Mulford works with local organizations to provide education, arts, and supportive services to the community.

The Community Builders: The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit housing organizations, with offices located in Boston, Chicago, Columbus, New York, and Washington D.C. Since 1964, TCB has assembled over $4 billion in project financing from a wide variety of public and private sources to develop 33,000+ apartments and 430,000 sq ft of neighborhood-serving commercial space. With 14,000+ apartments in our ownership and management portfolio today, TCB is committed to the long-term success of our developments and residents. For more information visit www.tcbinc.org

Yonkers Housing Authority: Yonkers Housing Authority is the largest provider of affordable housing in the City of Yonkers and the fourth largest public housing authority in New York State. YHA has an unparalleled commitment to redeveloping, managing and administering its housing stock to provide low-income families, the elderly and disabled individuals with access to good, sustainable housing that improves the quality of the residents’ lives, fosters their economic success, and allows them to serve as integral members of communities in which they live. For more information visit www.mhacy.org