Ambitious Harlem housing plan complete

Real Estate Weekly, Dec 15, 2004

Proud first-time homeowners, community leaders, local residents and a partnership of lenders, developers and public officials celebrated the completion of 49 elegantly designed condominiums on W. 117th Street in Harlem recently--the last phase of an ambitious plan to renovate a block of vacant buildings into affordable homes.

The completion of the Morningside Court Condominium brings to a successful conclusion the rebuilding efforts on W. 117th Street between Morningside and Manhattan Avenues, where a unique public and private partnership has transformed formerly vacant city-owned buildings into affordable brownstone and mid-rise condominiums.

Morningside Court, the third phase of the block's redevelopment, was built as part of the New Homes Program, a joint initiative of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Housing Partnership Development Corporation.

HPD contributed the buildings and provided nearly $500,000 in subsidies to keep the condominiums affordable. The Community Preservation Corporation and MetLife provided construction financing for the two five-story buildings.

Harlem Community Development Corporation served as the community sponsor, marketing agent and development consultant, working closely with the architect and developer/builder on the project's design, amenities and sale prices.

The developer is Morningside Builders, LLC, the builder is Galaxy General Contracting Corporation and the architect is Roger C. Lewis and Associates. More than 1,600 people played the lottery for the development. The spacious one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units, all with oak floors, washer/dryer closets, nine-foot ceilings and video intercoms, are located in two buildings, each featuring a marble-tile lobby and enclosing a landscaped interior courtyard.

The average price for the condominiums was $145,844. More than 95% of the units were available to buyers earning less than $75,000 a year. As part of the W. 117th Street Affordable Condominium Project, a total of 18 buildings have been renovated and sold to 148 families at affordable prices.

As part of the first phase, 42 condominiums were created in the Endymion, a six-story building, and four brownstones were renovated into eight condominium units. The second phase, Morningside Parc, was a 49-unit building completed in 2000.

Nearly $16 million was provided in loans and grants for the three phases, with MetLife providing $7.3 million at below market rates and CPC lending more than $5.8 million. City and state grants have totaled nearly $2.7 million.

"Morningside Court gives 49 families the opportunity to be homeowners and to build their futures in Harlem," said HPD Deputy Commissioner Kimberly Hardy.

"Enabling families to buy homes in New York City is key to Mayor Bloomberg's $3 billion housing plan, The New Housing Marketplace: Creating Housing for the Next Generation, to fund the construction and rehabilitation of 65,000 houses and apartments through 2008."