***Published in Glen Cove Record Pilot***
Affordable housing developer Georgica Green Ventures President David Gallo stood before a crowd at a groundbreaking event on a blighted, vacant site that will in approximately 18 months become a workforce rental housing development overlooking the Hempstead Harbor.
The $30 million, 1.5 acre project will add 55 units of affordable multi-family units to the 56-acre Garvies Point Development by RXR Glen Isle Partners LLC that has been moving in new residents over the past year. Georgica Green Ventures was selected by RXR to oversee the new affordable housing project on Dickson Street.
“I just think the will of the people here and the need to get this done is remarkable,” Gallo, of Port Washington, told the crowd that included City of Glen Cove Mayor Tim Tenke, city councilmembers, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and State Senator Anna Kaplan. “I think it’s a testament to all of the members here sticking with it and allowing us to get to the ceremony of breaking ground.”
Affordable housing is much-needed in Glen Cove. When Village Square, a component of the Garvies Point development that stands in downtown Glen Cove, had 14 affordable units available, 250 applications were submitted. Those who could move into the 14 units were selected via a lottery system.
“These will not sit around too long once you get them going,” Tenke said. “You look at some other communities that are not doing so well. They are not developing as quickly. Glen Cove is growing. We’re growing by leaps and bounds here. It’s nothing short of being committed to doing so and having the right people involved in that.”
Gallo’s company, Georgica Green Ventures, since 2012, has created more than 1,000 affordable housing units for New York families, including projects designed for formerly homeless veterans, survivors of domestic violence and senior citizens.
This new project, described by a press release from Georgica Green Ventures, will include the construction of two four-story buildings with a total of 55 rental units. Building A, on the northern portion of the site, is 28,814 square feet with 24 dwelling units and Building B, located on the southern portion of the site, is 30,814 square feet with 31 dwelling units.
The apartment buildings will consist of four studios and 16 one-bedroom, 29 two-bedroom and six three-bedroom apartments. Forty units will be available for residents earning up to 60 percent of the area’s medium income. Six units will be available for residents earning up to 100 percent area medium income and eight units are reserved for residents with Section 8 vouchers that earn up to 30 percent area medium income.
Gallo said Curran had approached him before she became county executive to learn more about the complexities about affordable housing and the complexities developers face. Now that she’s county executive, Gallo said he appreciated her attending ground breakings and ribbon cuttings.
The county loaned $900,000 towards the project and has been working with the city’s Industrial Development Agency and Community Development Agency, Curran said.
“We do have many residential projects that we assist throughout the year, but this one the IDA board truly felt that it was needed based on its merits,” City of Glen Cove IDA And CDA Executive Director Ann Fangmann said. “From day one, [Gallo] came to us and said, ‘I’m going to build it like it was planned.’ I have to say it completely worked out. It took a village to make it happen’.”
State support for the project included the allocation of federal low-income housing tax credits that will generate about $13.4 million in equity and $7.7 million in subsidy from the state Homes and Community Renewal. Additional financing includes an $8.4 million subsidy from Barings.
“An important component of building back our state better than it was before is ensuring that all working families have a safe, affordable place to call home,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a press release. “This project will provide critical affordable housing in Glen Cove, while also continuing the city’s ongoing effort to transform this once-underutilized swath of waterfront into a vibrant community.”
Fangmann said she hoped the future residents would enjoy the 28-acres of public amenities in “their backyard,” a vibrant downtown and everything else Garvies Point has to offer.
The site is a quick walk to the brand new ferry terminal that will provide transportation to New York City. Residents will also be able to enjoy a boat and kayak launch, a beach and boardwalk, as well as walkable space like the planned ecology pier and dog park.
“We’re all here. Many of us are from Glen Cove, grew up in Glen Cove and born in Glen Cove Hospital,” Graziose said. “Working at Garvies Point has been a pleasure for me, obviously, because I’m closer to home. I get more out of it. We had an obligation here, RXR, of the 1,100 units that we were going to construct here in Garvies Point, we had an obligation that 10 percent of those be affordable. Of that 1,000, roughly 500 are rental units. Today, we have 385 rental units in operation.”
Garvies Point, with the new addition of affordable housing, is already ahead in RXR’s goal of providing affordable housing to Glen Cove.
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