NYCHA Secures Record-Breaking Preservation Funding and Pursues Innovative Projects
In 2025, NYCHA’s Real Estate Development Department (REDD) secured a record-breaking $2.9 billion in investments for NYCHA developments and communities through the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program.
Through public-private partnerships, PACT developments will enjoy comprehensive renovations, enhanced property management, and expanded on-site social services. Across the city, REDD has worked closely with residents to ensure that the renovations meet the needs and priorities of each community.
“I am looking forward to the change!” said Conrad Cox, Resident Association President at Brooklyn’s Saratoga Village, one of 16 developments that converted through the PACT program this past year.
Beyond PACT rehabilitations, REDD also advanced exciting new construction projects for NYCHA residents. NYCHA, along with external and resident partners, is making strides toward the complete redevelopment of Fulton Houses and Elliott-Chelsea Houses in Manhattan. In Brownsville, Brooklyn, REDD used a new federal tool to secure apartments for NYCHA residents in a new building. Additionally, REDD solicited proposals for new construction partnerships, allowing New York City’s development industry to embark on creative projects that will benefit NYCHA residents across the city.
Comprehensive Repairs for Residents
Many NYCHA developments are in desperate need of repair, and NYCHA has made significant strides in meeting those needs through the PACT program.
In 2025, NYCHA converted 6,664 apartments through the PACT program, the most apartments in a single year to date. More than 11,000 NYCHA residents will soon see dramatic improvements at their developments. Across six transactions, NYCHA was able to secure $2.9 billion of financing for repairs and upgrades, the most in a calendar year to date.
Through PACT, developments convert from the Section 9 federal housing assistance program to a federal program called Project-Based Section 8. This allows NYCHA to unlock funding to complete comprehensive repairs while also ensuring homes remain permanently affordable and residents have the same basic rights as they possess in the public housing program. PACT depends on partnerships with private and nonprofit development partners, who conduct the repairs, serve as the new on-site property manager, and provide enhanced social services and community programs.
“I’m happy to be included in the PACT program and that new property management is taking over,” Stuyvesant Gardens II Resident Association President Joan Hobson said after her Brooklyn development converted last fall. “I am looking forward to the repairs and improvements of the environment at Stuyvesant Gardens II.”
Stuyvesant Gardens II resident leader Theodora Gladden added, “We just want what’s best for the building, the residents, and to see this building reach its glory.”
The progress last year brings the PACT program to 31,248 apartments converted, including 13,060 apartments where construction has been completed. Since its inception, the program has brought $9.8 billion in funding to NYCHA buildings and residents.
“We’re eager to begin bringing residents the comprehensive renovations, improved building infrastructure, and enhanced security they deserve,” NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt said. “The PACT program has a proven track record of transforming NYCHA developments and improving residents’ quality of life.”
Ambitious New Construction Projects
NYCHA, its residents, and external partners are currently working on a first-of-its-kind, full-scale redevelopment of Fulton Houses and Elliott-Chelsea Houses in Chelsea. The project will see all 2,056 existing NYCHA apartments replaced with new, permanently affordable apartments for the NYCHA residents currently on site. The apartments will feature modern amenities like dishwashers and in-unit washer/dryers, and the campuses will also include healthcare facilities, community centers, and outdoor recreational spaces. The project will benefit New York City and other low-income New Yorkers, too: Approximately 3,500 new homes, including approximately 1,000 permanently affordable apartments, will be built on the site after the NYCHA replacement apartments are completed.
Last year, the Environmental Impact Statement for the project was completed, allowing NYCHA and its partners to move forward with the next stages of the project. Construction on new buildings is expected to begin later in 2026.
At Howard Houses in Brownsville, REDD closed the agency’s first-ever deal using the federal Transfer of Assistance program, which means apartments in a newly constructed affordable housing building will be set aside for NYCHA residents.
NYCHA owned the land beneath a long-abandoned NYPD station house and transferred the development rights to Xenolith Partners LLC and Family Services Network of New York, Inc., a development team that will construct a 95-unit building on the site. The building will serve households earning between 30 to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), and it will feature health services in a 5,000-square-foot community space. At least 19 apartments will be set aside for current NYCHA residents.
Additionally, NYCHA released the Development Partnership Opportunities Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI). The RFEI invited members of the real estate community to propose sites and existing buildings where NYCHA can use its flexible tools to create public development and low-income housing. The RFEI brought in close to 60 new construction proposals, which represent the first steps towards additional innovative projects.
Team Recognition
For these efforts, industry groups recognized REDD with several awards in 2025.
Vistria awarded NYCHA’s Reid Park Rock PACT project “Deal of the Year.” The Landmarks Conservancy awarded REDD the 2025 Lucy G. Moses Award for its preservation work at Harlem River Houses and its preservation of the Nivola Horses at Wise Towers. The New York State Preservation League also honored REDD’s preservation work at Williamsburg Houses. Lastly, the New York Housing Conference honored REDD with the Public Service Award.
More importantly, residents and resident leadership at NYCHA sites voiced their support for REDD’s work improving and reshaping their communities.
At Taft Rehabs in Harlem, Resident Association President Elaine Livingston reflected on the process after the site’s PACT deal closed: “Residents have been planning for this project through many meetings and conversations over the past three years, and we are excited to now see the transformation we have been working towards. Our residents deserve this change, and we are looking forward to the investment in our apartments, buildings, and community, as well as continuing to work with the PACT team and NYCHA on what’s to come.”