BFC Partners Building 269-Unit Affordable Complex at Staten Island’s 475 Bay Street
By Mark Hallum January 14, 2022 5:33 pm
reprints![](https://commercialobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/01/475_Bay_street_ID_01_R02.jpg?quality=80&w=715)
A 250,173-square-foot development will come to Staten Island’s Bay Street, in a newly rezoned section of the neighborhood of Stapleton, bringing with it 269 residential units that developer BFC Partners says will be 100 percent affordable.
With a total development cost of $151 million and a first mortgage of $99.8 million from the New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA), 475 Bay Street will house at-risk New Yorkers who will receive social services through Selfhelp Community Services. BFC Partners announced the closing of the sale of the site on Friday.
The building will feature a rooftop recreation area, an indoor fitness area, a children’s play space and a multifunctional lounge, according to BFC Partners, and will include special amenities for older residents such as an outdoor recreation deck.
“The closing at 475 Bay Street is an exciting milestone in the revitalization of Staten Island’s North Shore,” Joseph Ferrara, principal of BFC Partners, said in a statement. “As the first project to break ground on this newly rezoned piece of Bay Street, this development will pave the way for necessary development in the neighborhood.”
According to the developer, 131 units will be set aside for tenants whose household income is at or below an area median income (AMI) of 80 percent — or $85,920 for a family of three. About 138 units will be reserved for formerly unhoused seniors with an income at or below 30 percent of AMI, which is $25,080 for an older adult living alone.
“For decades, Selfhelp has been providing older adults and other vulnerable New Yorkers with affordable housing and services to age with independence and dignity in the neighborhoods they call home,” Stuart Kaplan, CEO of Selfhelp Community Services, said in a statement.
The neighborhood will get the added benefit of 9,000 square feet of retail on the ground level, BFC Partners said, while the social services will get an annual subsidy from the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.