New York Construction Report staff writer
Construction has begun on Phase 1A of Innovative Urban Village, a major redevelopment project in East New York that will ultimately bring nearly 2,000 affordable homes, retail space and public amenities to the site of the Christian Cultural Center (CCC) campus.
The $270 million first phase includes 385 affordable apartments and ground-floor commercial space, including a fresh food grocery store. All units will be affordable to households earning between 30 and 80 per cent of the Area Median Income (AMI), with 94 apartments reserved for households eligible for on-site support services such as case management, legal services and nutritional support.
“Innovative Urban Village is helping us fight the housing affordability crisis while also prioritizing improvements that will make the neighbourhood more livable for families,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said at the groundbreaking. “This project would not have been possible without the cooperation of all our partners, including Mayor Adams and the Christian Cultural Center.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams called the development a model for his administration’s approach to the housing crisis. “The best way to tackle our city’s housing crisis is to build more affordable housing, and that is exactly what our administration is doing,” he said. “This project brings more homes, more jobs, and more opportunity to Brooklyn.”
The mixed-use development is a joint venture between CCC, The Gotham Organization and Monadnock Development, with design by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism and SLCE Architects. Urban Resource Institute will provide supportive services.
Sustainable features of Phase 1A include all-electric heating and cooling, solar panels, green roofs, electric vehicle charging stations, low-flow fixtures, LED lighting and ENERGY STAR appliances
The full redevelopment will span 10 buildings and include nearly 2,000 affordable units, community space for childcare, senior services and workforce development, a performing arts centre, new public streets and three acres of open space. The site was rezoned by the City of New York to support the project.
Innovative Urban Village is supported by New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), which has financed more than 7,700 affordable homes in Brooklyn under Gov. Hochul. The project received funding through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program ($115 million in equity), HCR’s Housing Finance Agency ($47 million), and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Extremely Low- and Low-Income Affordability Program ($47 million). Additional investment comes from the Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs Alternatives
The site is part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Brownfield Cleanup Program and is eligible for $28 million in tax credits. Supportive housing operations will be funded through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative.
Environmental review and planning were led by VHB, which conducted the Environmental Impact Statement and other analyses to guide the development plan based on community priorities.
“Innovative Urban Village is rooted in the values of this community,” said David Velez, environmental planning lead at VHB. “This is more than a groundbreaking — it’s a testament to what’s possible when vision meets commitment.”
Construction timelines and application details for future housing phases have not yet been announced.
