The Bronx is about to get an affordable housing infusion.
The neighborhood of Morrisania is slated to get 229 affordable homes for seniors, with 80 units reserved for NYCHA residents at Morris Houses, at a development dubbed Sol on Park.
The Mamdani administration announced Wednesday it had closed on the project, which will be built on the same site as the Morris Houses, with plans to develop the $214 million project in partnership with New York City Housing Authority, the Housing Development Corporation and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Developers NRP Group, Selfhelp Realty Group and Foxy Management are slated to begin construction, targeting an early 2029 move-in date for new residents.
Sol on Park will be the city’s largest use of its “transfer of assistance” program, which the administration’s housing plan describes as a tool that taps the federal Housing and Urban Development Department’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program to offer newly constructed apartments to NYCHA residents.
Touting the Bronx redevelopment of a public housing property allows the mayor to highlight updated NYCHA housing enabled by the federal RAD initiative. Meanwhile, a controversial overhaul of more than 2,000 NYCHA units in Elliott-Chelsea and Fulton Houses in Manhattan by Related Companies and Essence Development remains on hold during a heated legal battle brought by tenants.
“We are building affordable homes, creating opportunities for NYCHA residents and proving that government can act with the urgency this housing crisis demands,” Mayor Mamdani said in a statement.
In addition to the 80 apartments eligible for transferring NYCHA senior tenants, 68 units will be set aside as supportive housing for formerly homeless seniors and 80 will be available to low- and middle-income seniors who apply through the housing lottery.
The transfer of assistance program, which uses Section 8 to transition tenant subsidies and protections to their new apartments, works in tandem with the administration’s Build First initiative to identify sites where new buildings or redevelopments can add more housing to NYCHA properties across the city while aiming to minimize displacement of existing residents.
“The Sol on Park project will not only create more than 200 homes for low- to middle-income seniors, it will also provide social services to its residents, as well as a health and wellness center and career training opportunities for the local community,” HPD Commissioner Dina Levy said in a statement.
The project also signals the Mamdani administration’s continued reliance on public-private partnerships to get affordable units built in pursuit of its 200,000 target for new homes over the next decade.
Sol on Park marks co-developer NRP Group’s first major project in New York City, having partnered with public housing authorities upstate, as well as across 14 other states including Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The new building is Foxy Development’s sixth senior housing project.
What we’re thinking about: Is the transfer of assistance model an efficient solution for building more units on NYCHA property? Let me know your thoughts at ben.miller@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: As a historic heat wave sweeps New York City this week, the energy grid will be under particular strain. A New York Independent System Operator assessment estimates that New York’s grid could hit a baseline peak of 32,410 MW on Thursday, inching close to a July 2013 record of 33,956 MW.
— Spencer Davis
Elsewhere…
— Developers have taken advantage of a loophole in the city’s tax incentives to build 538 fewer affordable housing units than they would otherwise be required to, according to an analysis by Gothamist. The 485x program allows owners of buildings with 99 units or fewer to reserve only 20 percent of apartments for low- and middle-income tenants and pay workers a minimum of $17 per hour. Developments exceeding 99 units must raise the worker wage floor to at least $63 per hour — as well as up the affordable housing minimum to 25 percent.
— New York City produced 13,605 new affordable housing units last year, down 13 percent from 2024, The City Reporter reported. About two-thirds of the affordable units were built in the central Bronx, while ten City Council districts constructed 10 affordable units or less, and the Upper West Side built none.
— A federal appeals court has ruled that New York’s statewide mandate to build all-electric buildings does not interfere with federal law, State of Politics reported. The legislation, known as the All-Electric Buildings Act, would ban gas hookups in new buildings under seven stories and apply to buildings of all sizes built after Jan. 1, 2029.
— Spencer Davis
Closing time
Residential: In Soho, the most expensive residential sale recorded Wednesday was $10.15 million for a 4,155-square-foot condominium at 10 Greene Street. Aditi Javeri, Paul Kolbusz, and Stephen Diamond with Corcoran had the listing.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial transaction was $28 million for the 100,000-square-foot office building at 118 West 22nd Street in Chelsea. GFP Real Estate sold to Zar Property NY.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $7.2 million for a 16,514-square-foot home at 50 Wakefield Road in Staten Island. Michel Scibetta-Nicolo with Robert DeFalco Realty has the listing.
— Matthew Elo
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