New Affordable Housing Development Coming to Far Rock
More affordable housing is on its way downtown. Last week, L+M Development Partners (L+M), in partnership with Triangle Equities and The Bluestone Organization announced that they closed on $95.7 million in financing for Beach Green Dunes III, a mixed-use project in Far Rockaway.
Beach Green Dunes III will bring 146 affordable units, commercial and retail space, a community facility, and a new transit plaza to 331 Beach 35th Street, according to a press release. The units will be a range of studios, one, two, and three-bedroom apartments serving very low to moderate income and formerly homeless households earning between 30 and 80 percent of Area Median Income. Additionally, a portion of the studio and one-bedroom units will be made affordable to seniors over the age of 62. Construction on the certified Passive House project will begin in the coming weeks, with an expected completion in 2024.
The eight-story building also incorporates an array of cutting-edge sustainability and resiliency features, including being a Passive House certified building, and will be highly storm resilient with site improvements including porous surface materials and rain gardens, and all residential and retail spaces located above the base flood elevation. Energy efficiency features include a closed-loop geothermal system providing heating, cooling, and domestic hot water, smart controls, and building monitoring capabilities, and photovoltaic panels on both roofs.
The project will offer a host of amenities for residents, including fitness areas, laundry rooms, a community room, a roof deck, bike storage, outdoor recreational spaces, and on-site parking. The building will also include approximately 2,100 square feet of commercial and retail space, approximately 1,160 square feet of community facility space and a new transit plaza that will provide pedestrian access from the Beach 36th Street-Edgemere A Train subway station.
Financing was provided through tax-exempt bonds, subsidy loans from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York City Housing Development Corporation, funding from Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and the New York City Council, along with low-income housing credits and energy tax credits. The project was designed by Bernheimer Architecture.
“As Rockaway’s resurgence continues, I couldn’t be happier to see nearly 150 more units of affordable, high-quality housing, along with innovative energy and resiliency measures, to Edgemere and the peninsula as a whole,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “Combined with new community space, retail space, a pedestrian plaza, Beach Green Dunes III will further cement Rockaway’s status as a model for the rest of the city to follow when it comes to responsible, community-first development.”
“Beach Green Dunes III will increase housing options in Edgemere while providing additional shopping and transit opportunities for residents,” Councilmember Brooks-Powers said. “I applaud the efforts of developers to ensure this new development is storm-resilient and sustainable.”
Beach Green Dunes III is a continuation of the L+M, Bluestone, and Triangle joint venture’s commitment to the Rockaway Peninsula. Last year, the partnership began work on Arverne East. That project, in the Arverne and Edgemere neighborhoods, will include 1,650 mixed-income homes, a 35-acre nature and a community center. L+M and Triangle also opened Beach Green Dunes II in Far Rockaway in 2020, an eight-story 100 percent affordable project built to Passive House standards that includes 127 apartments and a café and culinary arts center run by the Campaign Against Hunger.
