Construction of $49M unique affordable housing underway

The Doe Fund and Robert Sanborn Development have begun the construction of a $49 million affordable and supportive housing development in the Wakefield section of the North Bronx that will be called The Plains, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on May 25. 

The development will provide 98 affordable homes with supportive services. There will be 49 units reserved for adults experiencing homelessness and living with HIV/AIDS, and another 20 apartments set aside for seniors aged 62 and older. 

“Robert Sanborn Development is excited to be a partner in the development of The Plains, our second collaboration with The Doe Fund,” Robert said. “The Plains represents our continued commitment to developing thoughtfully designed, state-of-the-art homes with integrated services.”

The Doe Fund obtained private sector construction and permanent loans through Merchant’s Bank of Indiana and Freddie Mac, and tax-credit equity was syndicated by Richman Housing.

The Corporation for Supportive Housing also provided a $4 million acquisition loan that included funds for pre-development.

“Sustained investment in creating and preserving safe, affordable homes for New Yorkers is a cornerstone of my administration,” Hochul said. “This new development demonstrates our commitment to increasing the supply of quality homes across the Bronx and to keeping our most vulnerable residents active, engaged, and living healthier, more independent lives.”

The Plains is part of Hochul’s sweeping plans to make housing more affordable, equitable, and stable. In the recently enacted state budget, the governor introduced and secured a new $25 billion, five-year, comprehensive housing plan that will increase housing supply by creating or preserving 100,000 affordable homes across New York including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations, plus the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes. 

“I commend The Doe Fund for prioritizing the wellbeing of people through this 98 unit housing development complete with support services that reflects the care-center investments we need to make more of,” U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman said. “New York has a devastating housing crisis, and The Bronx is the epicenter of that crisis. In The Bronx, we see rent skyrocketing and record numbers of evictions since this pandemic began. This makes ending homelessness further out of reach in the richest nation of the world — and is a policy failure.

“I am proud to support this initiative and will continue to push for more equitable, affordable and accessible housing through federal investments - such as with my bill The Affordable CO-OP Act that I introduced recently.”

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz echoed Bowman’s sentiments.

“There is no question that our city is in desperate need of truly affordable housing, especially for older adults and people who need additional support structures to help maintain housing stability,” Assemblyman Dinowitz said.

“I am glad that HCR is continuing the effort to promote affordable housing development in the Bronx, and I look forward to this project’s completion.”