After two years of its proposal, a supportive/affordable housing residence in Norwood will be opening its doors later this year after unexpected delays. But the committee that heard the latest development is worried over whether they’re guaranteed spots for current neighborhood residents.
At the Community Board 7 Housing/Land Use Meeting on Jan. 9, John McDonald, the COO of The Doe Fund, a non-profit group that’s nearly built the $29.5 million affordable housing unit at 3100 Webster Ave., outlined the project. He was joined by Amanda Septimo, a community outreach consultant for the Villa Avenue project, who explained the issues surrounding the Webster Avenue residence.
“This was a former auto body repair shop. When we did our environmental studies report there were two tanks in the report. We cleaned the designated site. As we did our excavation, we found two more tanks that were not even shown and this was after doing ground penetration,” said McDonald, explaining the unexpected cleaning.
The plan outlined by McDonald projected the building would be completed by May 1 2018. The 82-unit building will have 41 units for those in need of supportive services and referred by the city Human Resources Administration. The other half of the units will be available via a lottery for those earning an annual income of $40,000 to $60,000. The monthly rents average $900 to $1200.
The Doe Fund is also building a site at 3188 Villa Ave.
But just who would occupy the Villa Avenue units became a pointed discussion by the committee. As it stands, housing has become a quintessential issue in New York City, making affordable housing a greater commodity.
“We don’t even have a promise that we will be able to get residents from CB7 into the building,” Barbara Stronczer, a committee member, said of the Villa Avenue property. “And we have been able to get a promise from other developers before.”
Septimo said the rules on supportive housing prevent them from offering a preference to those already living in the community.
“Other developers are dealing in different programs and so there are just different rules and different ways it has to happen because it is supportive housing,” Septimo said, mentioning that because they were dealing with the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) it was more complicated. “If this was a private development we would have more say. With that said we do have influence in the process.”
Despite concerns, committee chair Jean Hill moved to write a letter of support for the Villa Avenue.