Construction has started on Pueblo Nuevo I, a $25 million development in Rochester’s El Camino neighborhood. The initial phase of construction will create 75 new affordable homes across 16 residential buildings with new community green space at the center of the development area, a statement from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office says. Nineteen apartments will be reserved for adults with developmental disabilities.
The project’s developer is the Ibero-American Development Corporation, the development arm of the Ibero-American Action League, Inc.
“Every New Yorker deserves a safe, decent and affordable place to call home,” Cuomo said. “This new supportive housing development builds upon our continued strategic investments in communities across the state and will provide 75 brand-new, affordable homes for families and those in need of supportive services.”
The Pueblo Nuevo I development is part of Governor Cuomo’s $20 billion, five-year affordable Housing Plan administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal, the statement says.
Pueblo Nuevo I will transform 20 vacant, underutilized or dilapidated lots across a five-block area around North Clinton Avenue and just south of St. Michael’s Church in El Camino.
There will be 16 buildings in total: a newly constructed multifamily building with 16 units on Sullivan Street; 13 newly constructed three-family homes across the development area; and one existing two-family home on Hoeltzer Street that will undergo renovations. In addition, a Romanesque brick building on Clifford Avenue originally constructed in 1905 will be adapted into a multifamily building with 18 units.
Seventy-one of the apartments will be affordable to households earning up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income and the remaining four units reserved for households earning up to 80 percent of the AMI. Eight households will receive project-based Section 8 vouchers from the Rochester Housing Authority. Nineteen of the homes will be set aside for adults with developmental disabilities who will have access to support services provided by the Ibero-American Action League.
In the center of the neighborhood development, a city-owned lot at 12 Hoeltzer Street will be transformed into a community green space with gardens, walking paths, a playground, and a picnic pavilion. The green space will tie directly to the City-funded La Marketa currently under construction.
Pueblo Nuevo I is certified by the international Climate Bond Initiative, which helps finance the construction of healthy, energy-efficient homes for New Yorkers, while reducing the State’s carbon footprint. The buildings will have high efficiency heating and cooling systems, LED high efficiency lighting, low-flow plumbing fixtures and Energy Star appliances. The development aligns with New York’s nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act which requires the State to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
A second phase of Pueblo Nuevo is expected to begin construction in early 2021. This next phase will create an additional 29 affordable homes as well as the El Camino Community Center. Previously, HCR has financed the construction of El Camino Estates, which offers 50 homes for families, and Buena Vista Manor, with 30 homes for seniors, both in the El Camino neighborhood.
HCR’s investment in the $25 million development includes $12.5 million in permanent and construction tax-exempt Climate bonds, $11.5 million in federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity and $6.3 million in subsidy. The New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) is providing $2.8 million in financing and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is providing funding through its Low-rise Residential New Construction program. Additional financing is being provided by the City of Rochester and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.
