Financing finalized for pioneering Staten Island housing development.

The Arker Companies, The Domain Companies and Neighborhood Housing Services of Staten Island (NHSSI) announced the closing of financing for the rental component of the $60 million redevelopment of Markham Gardens, an affordable housing complex located in the West Brighton neighborhood on Staten Island's north shore. The redevelopment initiative--a pioneer participant in a national pilot project showcasing green residential design--will create a total of 290 new affordable residential units comprising 240 rental apartments and 25 two-family homes.

The rebuilding of Markham Gardens is part of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's ten-year New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and preserve 165,000 affordable housing units for 500,000 New Yorkers, the largest municipal affordable housing plan in the nation's history.

Financial components for the project's rental element include $25 million in tax-exempt bonds from the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), $16 million in equity generated from the sale of 4% low-income housing tax credits from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and $17 million from the sale of 421-a negotiable certificates.

Financing for the homeownership component is scheduled to close in early 2007. Ownership units will be financed through a conventional construction loan from Citibank along with state financial assistance.

The initiative is also expected to receive $600,000 toward energy-efficiency measures from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

In June--through a competitive process--HPD, HDC and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) designated the three development entities to assume responsibility for redeveloping the 63-year old site, whose World War II-era units are undersized by current standards and have aged and deteriorated beyond reasonable repair.

With formal encouragement from City officials, the development team plans to transform Markham Gardens into a national showcase for environmentally sustainable residential construction. The redevelopment plan is one of the first in the country to win approval from the U.S. Green Building Council--the entity that establishes and monitors national Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards--to take part in its new "LEED for Homes" initiative.

Designed with environmentally sustainable, energy-efficient and green building techniques, 150 of the 240 mixed-income rental units will be for Section 8 voucher recipients referred by NYCHA, including former Markham Garden tenants wishing to return. The remaining 90 units will be affordable to residents with incomes between $30,082 to $85,080 for a family of four.

The redevelopment also includes 50 units in 25 for-sale two-family homes for moderate-income families, as well as a park, outdoor seating areas with extensive landscaping, and a 6,000 s/f recreational center consisting of an indoor basketball court, exercise facility, computer center and classrooms.

DHK Architects, an architectural firm specializing in affordable housing, designed the redevelopment.

"HPD Commissioner Shaun Donovan, HDC president Emily Youssouf, NYCHA chairman Tino Hernandez and Councilman Michael McMahon clearly share a deep commitment to the creation of first-rate workforce housing priced within the reach of typical New Yorkers," said Alex Arker, a principal with The Arker Companies.

Domain Companies principal Matt Schwartz added, "We want Markham Gardens to set a new 'green' standard for housing developers across the country."