M & S Development embarks on affordable housing venture.

M&S Development, a residential and commercial development company based in Rosedale, Queens, has just broken ground on an unusual new affordable housing development.

The development project, which will create 38 new two-family homes in Southeast queens, is part of a new creative housing program with the New York City Housing Partnership.

This is the first development project attempted by a New York City public housing authority on a group of different-sized lots that are scattered throughout different neighborhoods. The sites also range in size, and will accommodate anywhere from one house to five houses.

Marcus explained that the different sizes and locations of the public lots create a logistical nightmare for most development companies.

M&S has just broken ground on the first two-family house, and expects to complete it in 120 days. The houses will be constructed in an ongoing basis as the city sells the homes to the more than 300 applicants now in line.

The target group for the houses are families making between $30,000 and $50,000 per year. The homes will sell for between $110,000 and $145,000. Subsidies for the construction of the homes are being provided by the state, the city, and by the office of Queens Borough president Claire Shulman. Financing for the project was provided by Chase Community Development Corp.

M&S Homes has constructed more than 400 residential homes and commercial properties in its eight years of business in Long Island and Queens. Most projects are completed within six months, and usually are sold before construction begins.