NYCHA & Resident Leaders Select PACT Partners to Deliver $128M in Comprehensive Upgrades at 3 Bronx Developments
On February 24, NYCHA, in partnership with resident leaders, announced the selection of a new PACT partner team comprised of Beacon Communities LLC, Kalel Holdings, and MBD Community Housing Corporation to deliver $128.5 million in comprehensive apartment repairs and upgrades, building renovations, and landscaping improvements through the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program to three NYCHA campuses comprising 952 apartments in the Northeast Bronx: Boston Secor, Boston Road Plaza, and Middletown Plaza. The selection of the three co-developers was made by a resident review committee after an extensive community engagement process beginning in July 2021. Committee members reviewed and compared proposals and conducted interviews with proposing teams. The selected partner team will spend the next several months coordinating in-unit inspections and assessments of common areas as well as maintenance facilities. Construction will start in 2024, with Notias Construction serving as the general contractor. Wavecrest Management will handle day-to-day property management once the developments convert to Project Based Section 8. A non-profit social services provider will be added to the partner team to provide on-site services and programs.
“Last year, we drove more than $2 billion to renovate 8,500 NYCHA apartments through the PACT program, and in less than two months this year, we have driven more than $500 million to rehabilitate homes for thousands of NYCHA residents,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Through this process, residents at Boston Secor, Boston Road Plaza, and Middletown Plaza have selected a development team that will deliver more than $128 million worth of comprehensive upgrades for more 1,700 residents, including 600 seniors, while a nonprofit social services organization will provide on-site services. Congratulations to the resident leaders who led the way to chart a path forward for their neighbors and the residents will soon be able to enjoy the quality of life they deserve.”
“Thanks to the months of dedicated collaboration and leadership demonstrated by residents at Boston Secor, Boston Road Plaza, and Middletown Plaza, we are now one crucial step closer to delivering these residents the quality of life that they deserve,” said Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz. “The selection of the PACT development team once again demonstrates the success that comes from putting residents in the driver’s seat. Congratulations to the tenants and their development partners at Beacon Communities, Kalel Holdings, and MBD Community Housing Corporation on this important milestone in the process to deliver transformational improvements to the homes of more than 1,700 residents.”
“Time and again, NYCHA residents are driving the improvement of their homes and community spaces by participating fully in the PACT program,” said NYCHA Interim CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “The development team selected by the resident review committee has a wealth of experience handling intricate housing redevelopment projects and offers the added benefit of having deep ties to the Northeast Bronx.”
“Boston Secor, Boston Road Plaza, and Middletown Plaza host large senior populations, and investments made through PACT will help reactivate community spaces for all ages and provide accessible and welcoming common spaces,” said NYCHA Executive Vice President of Real Estate Development Jonathan Gouveia. “This partner team has committed to working with resident leaders to prioritize other capital improvements that will improve their daily lives, like security enhancements and high-quality comprehensive apartment upgrades.”
Boston Secor, Boston Road Plaza, and Middletown Plaza were built in 1969, 1972, and 1973, respectively. Collectively, the three NYCHA campuses are comprised of six residential buildings and home to more than 1,700 residents. A resident survey conducted by NYCHA in fall 2021 identified a number of critical investment priorities, including for elevators, new security systems, and upgraded building entrances. With a significant population of seniors at Boston Road Plaza and Middletown Plaza, residents also prioritized improvements to indoor community spaces and public areas, such as improved outdoor seating, areas for socialization, and greenery and beautification. Over the next 12 to 18 months, NYCHA and the PACT partner team will engage with residents to finalize plans for these campus-wide investments and select a social services provider to provide services and programs for all residents.
“The PACT program is one of the best things to happen to Boston Road Plaza. The PACT partners have been easy to work with and I’m more than excited to see what they’ll do. This will be an awesome transformation,” said Boston Road Plaza Tenant Association President Laurenne Talbert.
“It was a pleasure to meet the PACT partner team and to have the opportunity for residents to ask questions and learn more about the program. We look forward to a continued partnership with them and to finalize our plans before starting construction work in 2024,” said Middletown Plaza Tenant Association President Reverend Marilyn Oliver.
“I believe our decision as a community to go with the PACT program is the best for our community. This decision was based off full transparency and the opportunity to be fully informed on all the benefits the program has to offer,” said Boston Secor Tenant Association President Shameca Patrick.
The selected PACT partners have several decades of combined experience in multifamily affordable housing development and preservation and are also current partners through the PACT program. Beacon Communities is a national real estate firm that develops, acquires, invests in, and manages a wide range of multifamily housing.
With 19,000 apartments in the firm’s portfolio collected across 11 states and the District of Columbia, Beacon Communities has extensive experience with preservation of affordable, senior-based, and multifamily housing, having preserved over 1,000 public housing units through the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program.
MBD Community Housing was founded in 1974 by a coalition of community activists in the Crotona Park section of the Bronx to rehabilitate a neighborhood deeply affected by blight and disinvestment. Today, the organization has 39 buildings and 1,200 housing units in its portfolio. Additionally, MBD has successfully constructed and renovated over 2,300 units of housing and sponsored the construction of several commercial developments throughout the Bronx.
Kalel Holdings is a New York City-based MBE with experience working on several past NYCHA campus renovations through the PACT program. In June 2019, leadership from the firm were selected as part of a consortium known as the PACT Renaissance Collaborative to address $500 million in capital repair needs for 16 Manhattan-based NYCHA sites, to the benefit of 2,900 public housing residents. Founded in 2012, the firm partners with non-profit and for-profit entities to build high-quality affordable housing units and also has extensive experience in renovating and rehabilitating commercial properties.
The PACT program transitions developments from traditional public housing assistance to the more stable, federally funded Project-Based Section 8 program — unlocking funding for designated PACT partners to complete comprehensive repairs. In 2022, the PACT program drove $2 billion in large-scale improvements for NYCHA residents in 8,531 apartments across 17 developments. With today’s designation, 137 NYCHA developments and 36,103 apartments are in either the engagement or pre-development process, under construction, or have received comprehensive repairs through the PACT program. The Authority is working to include 62,000 apartments in the PACT program.
