New York Construction Report staff writer
Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday announced the financial closing of Sol on Park, a 229-unit affordable housing development for older New Yorkers to be built on the New York City Housing Authority’s Morris Houses campus.
The $214 million project, developed in partnership with NYCHA, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), will use public land and innovative financing tools to deliver deeply affordable senior housing in the Bronx.
City officials said the development represents the largest use to date of the Transfer of Assistance program, a financing mechanism the administration plans to expand under its Block by Block housing strategy.
“New Yorkers need housing relief, and we’re using every tool at our disposal to deliver it,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Sol on Park will create more than 200 permanently affordable homes for older New Yorkers while strengthening the Morris Houses community.”
The development will include 80 apartments reserved for current residents of NYCHA’s Morris I and II buildings, 69 units for formerly homeless seniors and 79 units for low- and middle-income seniors selected through the city’s Housing Connect lottery.
Plans also call for community facility space, a pedestrian plaza and construction to Passive House and LEED Platinum standards. The project will be built by the NRP Group, Selfhelp Realty Group and Foxy Management, with construction expected to begin following the financial closing. Residents are expected to move in by early 2029.
“Sol on Park is a win for all New Yorkers,” Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg said. “Projects like these show how we can use innovative financing models and public land to build the housing that New Yorkers need.”
NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt said the project reflects years of engagement with Morris Houses residents that began in 2019 and helped shape the development.
“Through NYCHA’s largest Transfer of Assistance transaction to date, we will provide new homes for 80 existing residents while helping to create much-needed affordable housing for seniors,” she said.
HDC President Eric Enderlin said the project responds to the city’s growing need for senior housing while strengthening the Morrisania community.
HPD Commissioner Dina Levy said the development will include supportive services such as a health and wellness center, social services, and job training opportunities for local residents.
The project also will feature partnerships with Union Community Health Center and Green Bronx Machine’s National Health & Wellness Center, along with amenities including bicycle storage, laundry facilities, exercise rooms and computer labs.
Officials said Sol on Park is a key component of the administration’s broader Block by Block housing plan, which aims to build 200,000 affordable homes and preserve another 200,000 over the next decade while expanding tenant protections and increasing capital investment in NYCHA.
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