City, County and State Officials Celebrate Completion of $53.5M Project in Yonkers

YONKERS—City of Yonkers, Westchester County and New York State officials joined with the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers and The Community Builders recently to celebrate the completion of 172 Warburton at The Ridgeway, a new $53.5-million mixed-income residential community in Southwest Yonkers.

172 Warburton at The Ridgeway continues the strong partnership between MHACY and TCB to transform Southwest Yonkers by replacing three outdated Cottage Place Gardens public housing buildings and a vacant, dilapidated three-story residence with a new, energy efficient eight-story elevator residential building containing 85 housing units, a 181-unit parking garage for residents of this project phase as well as the broader Ridgeway development.

An important feature of the project is a new universal pre-kindergarten center located at the street level of 172 Warburton that is operated by WestCOP to serve both lower-income families at The Ridgeway communities and the broader neighborhood. The pre-K center includes eight classrooms, a multi-purpose room, a commercial kitchen, staff offices and an outdoor play area.

“Southwest Yonkers has a vibrant history, and this new public housing complex will provide residents with modern, high-quality affordable homes while also strengthening the entire community,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “This neighborhood is vibrant and inclusive, and with our ongoing investment to provide New Yorkers with new housing opportunities, this city will continue to grow and thrive.”

HCR Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “In partnership with MHACY and The Community Builders, we are driving the complete transformation of this neighborhood by replacing outdated buildings with modern apartments and a new pre-kindergarten facility to benefit the entire community. With the completion of 172 Warburton, our investment has yielded 327 newly constructed homes across four phases of development. By financing the preservation and reinvention of our aging but vital public housing, we are ensuring that more New Yorkers have access to safe, affordable homes in newly thriving communities like Southwest Yonkers.”

The unit mix of the 104,773-square-foot building includes 39 one-bedrooms, 31 two-bedrooms, and 15 three-bedrooms with a range of affordability.

The apartments include dishwashers, microwaves and air conditioning and the building includes a common laundry room and a rooftop resident center comprised of a resident meeting/lounge space, an outdoor terrace with views of the Hudson River, and a fitness room. In addition to vehicle parking, there will be additional parking for 40 bicycles.

The project has been designed to achieve Enterprise Green Communities (EGC) certification. Green elements of the project include Energy Star appliances and a solar PV array to provide energy for a portion of the building’s common electricity needs.

Ten percent of the project’s units are accessible for people with disabilities, and 4% of the project’s units are adapted for the needs of the hearing and visually impaired.

172 Warburton at the Ridgeway is the fourth phase of a six-phase master plan to redevelop the Cottage Place Gardens public housing complex into The Ridgeway, a mixed-income community of choice in Southwest Yonkers. Constructed in the 1940s, the 256-unit Cottage Place Gardens long outlived its useful life. 172 Warburton aligns with the city’s long-term vision for revitalization of this community identified in the Yonkers Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan and Warburton-Ravine URA plan.

The project has had a significant economic impact, creating or preserving more than 150 construction jobs over a 24-month construction period. The project also employed dozens of engineers, architects, lawyers, consultants and others in the development and finance industries, utilizing MWBE and local businesses. 172 Warburton also will employ at least 30 full-time staff to operate the pre-K center and two to four new, full-time property management and maintenance positions.

Financing of the project was provided by SONYMA/Permanent Mortgage ($11.15 million); NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Housing Trust Fund and Subsidy Loan Program ($9.3 million); NYS Empire State Development (ESD) Restore New York Communities ($2.25 million); Federal/State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Solar Tax Credit Equity ($17.2 million); MHACY ($750,000); City of Yonkers City HOME Funds ($500,000); Brownfield Cleanup Program Tax Credits ($8.9 million), and New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA) Tax Exempt Bonds ($25.4 million).

Regions Affordable Housing was the syndicator for the project, providing equity for the tax credits. JP Morgan Chase Bank provided a letter of credit for the project’s bonds. Sterling National Bank provided a bridge loan for the Brownfield Cleanup Program Tax Credits BCP tax credits. Critical predevelopment loans for the project were provided by Leviticus Fund, TCB, and MHACY.

“Not since the Yonkers downtown daylighting have so many layers of government come together to serve the needs of our tenants,’’ said MHACY President and CEO Wilson Kimball. “172 Warburton is the type of Public Private Partnership that shows these partnerships produce terrific results, we are very grateful to New York State, Westchester County, the City of Yonkers and our partners at The Community Builders for making this level of quality affordable housing available to our tenants.’’

MHACY, the second largest housing authority in the state behind New York City, has also been undergoing a major housing restoration over the past five years. Under the federal RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration) program more than 1,700 units have been renovated.