A housing lottery has launched for 21 cooperative apartments at 170 West 22nd Street in Chelsea, creating a rare homeownership opportunity for middle-income families and individuals in a newly constructed building.
The project was developed by Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), in partnership with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). It was financed through HPD’s Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program (ANCP), which selects qualified developers to rehabilitate distressed city-owned multifamily buildings in order to create affordable co-ops for low and moderate-income households.
The 21 apartments, offered via lottery on NYC Housing Connect, are available to households with total annual incomes between $103,820 (minimum) and $192,500 (maximum). Studio, 1-bed and 2-bed units range in price from approximately $385,865 to $451,600. More details, including eligibility requirements and application instructions can be found here.
“Across four decades, AAFE has been dedicated to creating affordable housing in collaboration with the community,” said Thomas Yu, executive director of Asian Americans for Equality. “As New York City confronts our growing affordability crisis, AAFE is determined to continue innovating ways to build all types of affordable housing, including homeownership opportunities. In Chelsea, we are especially proud of a project that has replaced a neighborhood eyesore with a project enabling 26 families (both existing and future residents) to achieve the dream of homeownership.”
“Creating real pathways to homeownership for working New Yorkers is one of the most powerful tools we have to keep our communities stable and diverse,” said City Councilmember Erik Bottcher. “I am thrilled that the Chelsea Apartments cooperative is moving forward through HPD’s Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program. This model turns longtime renters into homeowners and strengthens the fabric of our neighborhood. I encourage eligible residents to learn more, attend an information session if they can, and take advantage of this rare opportunity to build equity right here in the heart of our community.”
The new 9-story building, located on the corner of 22nd Street and 7th Avenue, features a stone and brick facade, blending in with the surrounding streetscape. There’s a shared terrace and recreational space on the eighth floor with stunning views looking north and south along 7th Avenue, a shared courtyard, a laundry room, bike room and elevator. The building includes numerous sustainable features such as energy efficient mechanical systems, natural daylight in corridors and energy saving thermal insulation. There are two commercial spaces on the ground floor for local retail businesses.
The building replaces four dilapidated city-owned tenements, an eyesore on this corner for decades before demolition in early 2023. The longtime residents, who were living in the buildings at the time, were temporarily relocated during construction and will be moving into new apartments on site, ultimately becoming homeowners.
170 West 22nd Street was transferred from the City to Restoring Communities HDFC when construction began. It will be conveyed to a newly formed Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC), owned and managed by the residents.
Financing for this project includes a construction loan from Enterprise Community Partners through their community development financial institution, Enterprise Community Loan Fund, in collaboration with Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) and subsidies through NYC HPD’s Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program.
“170 West 22nd Street delivers something increasingly rare—and desperately needed—in New York City: a real path to homeownership,” said Elise Balboni, executive vice president and head of Lending and New Markets Investments at Enterprise. “For nearly 40 years, Enterprise has supported AAFE and its mission. We’re proud to stand with them now on a project that demonstrates how innovative community-centered solutions can expand access to housing in even the highest-cost neighborhoods.”
Kirsten Shaw, VP of Northeast & Mid-Atlantic Regions at Low Income Investment Fund said, “LIIF congratulates AAFE and New York City HPD for once again tackling a challenged property and transforming it into a homeownership opportunity for low- and middle-income families in one of Manhattan’s highest-cost neighborhoods.”
Informational webinars will be held on December 8 and January 12. The seminars will provide information about the cooperatives, the application and purchase process and lending options for purchasers. Seminar attendance is not mandatory to purchase. To participate in the webinars, click on the following links: Monday, December 8, 6PM; Monday, January 12, 6PM.
Applications must be received no later than January 28.
In 2017, AAFE successfully completed the first project under the Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program at 244 Elizabeth St. in Manhattan, creating 19 affordable cooperative apartments. AAFE also completed the renovation of three buildings in the East Village neighborhood through the program.
Asian Americans for Equality advances racial, social and economic justice for all, regardless of background. AAFE is a comprehensive community development organization that builds and manages affordable housing in Manhattan and Queens, provides an array of community services and offers low-interest loans and training to immigrant small business owners. AAFE has preserved/created more than 1,300 affordable apartments in the past three decades.
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the nation’s largest municipal housing preservation and development agency. Its mission is to promote quality housing and diverse, thriving neighborhoods for New Yorkers through loan and development programs for new affordable housing, preservation of the affordability of the existing housing stock, enforcement of housing quality standards, and educational programs for tenants and building owners.
Restoring Communities Housing Development Fund Corporation (“Restoring Communities”) is a nonprofit organization with extensive experience in creating affordable homeownership opportunities. Restoring Communities is an affiliate of Neighborhood Restore Housing Development Fund Corporation and has been a long-time partner with HPD in revitalizing New York City neighborhoods. Through its established partnerships with government, lenders and community partners, Restoring Communities and its affiliates have remained active in leading affordable housing programs by successfully acquiring, rehabilitating, and marketing distressed properties to low- and moderate- income households.
Enterprise Community Loan Fund, a community development financial institution, is an affiliate of Enterprise Community Partners, a national nonprofit that exists to make a good home possible for the millions of families without one. Its mission is to deliver innovative financial products and technical assistance to mission-aligned organizations to acquire, develop, and preserve quality and resilient affordable housing for low-and moderate-income families, and to revitalize their communities by providing access to good jobs, schools, transportation, and healthy living environments. Since 1982, Enterprise Community Loan Fund has lent and/or committed $3.1 billion to develop, preserve, and/or rehabilitate more than 149,000 homes across the United States — all to make home and community places of pride, power, and belonging.