North White Plains will include 296 apartments, with 30 income-restricted homes and a state loan designed to be repaid.
Construction has begun on North White Plains, a $178 million apartment development beside the North White Plains Metro-North station, Governor Kathy Hochul announced November 10.
The BRP Companies project will have 296 apartments in two six-story buildings, along with retail space and a public park. State officials describe it as the first development to use New York’s Housing Acceleration Fund, a loan program intended to move ready-to-build mixed-income housing projects past financing gaps.
The development is in Westchester County, not the Mohawk Valley. Its statewide significance is the financing approach and the use of state capital to help start construction. The announcement does not identify a related project or new apartment application opportunity in Utica.
Thirty income-restricted apartments
The development will offer studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. Of the 296 homes, five will be reserved for households earning up to 60 percent of area median income, and 25 for households earning up to 110 percent, according to the governor’s office. The other 266 apartments will be market-rate.
It would therefore be inaccurate to describe all 296 homes as income-restricted affordable housing. The limits apply to 30 apartments, and the announcement does not provide the eventual rents or dollar income limits for each household size.
Area median income is the regional benchmark used for those eligibility limits. Applicants will need the actual published requirements when leasing opens rather than assume that a percentage alone determines their eligibility.
How the project is financed
The November announcement lists $18 million from the Housing Acceleration Fund, $120 million from Merchants Capital, $10 million from the Community Preservation Corporation and $30 million in equity from Basis Investment Group and BRP Companies.
Homes and Community Renewal administers the state fund. It provides low-interest revolving loans rather than simply making a one-time grant. The governor’s office says HCR’s investment will be repaid with three percent interest when the project is complete, allowing the money to support additional developments.
The financing was announced earlier this year. In a July 30 account, the Community Preservation Corporation listed $120.6 million from Merchants Capital and $29.7 million in equity, alongside the same $18 million state loan and $10 million CPC investment. The November release uses rounded figures. This report does not treat those differently rounded descriptions as evidence of a changed financing agreement.
Transit access, public space and building plans
The planned development is adjacent to the commuter rail station and near dining and retail. State officials say the location will connect residents with employment in Westchester and New York City. The announcement does not supply a travel-time guarantee.
Planned amenities include a fitness center, resident lounge, co-working lounge, event space and patio. A 1,000-square-foot ground-floor retail space is envisioned as a coffee shop, rather than identified as an already leased or operating business.
A publicly accessible park will include a dog run. The plan also includes a 383-space parking garage and electric-vehicle charging. The buildings will use electric heat pumps for heating and cooling and are designed to meet or exceed ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction standards.
Those are planned features and design standards. Construction starting does not mean the apartments, park or retail space are ready for use, or that final energy performance has been measured.
What prospective residents should know
The source reviewed does not give a verified leasing start, housing-lottery link, rent schedule or completion date. Readers should look for official project and housing-agency notices before submitting an application or paying anyone who claims to reserve an apartment.
The new development adds both market-rate and income-restricted homes. Its eventual effect on wider housing costs cannot be established from the groundbreaking announcement alone. The next concrete milestones are construction progress, final application details and occupancy.
Sources
Governor’s November 10 construction announcement; Community Preservation Corporation’s July 30 financing announcement. This report distinguishes the new construction milestone from the earlier financing announcement and does not imply that all apartments are income-restricted.