BFC Partners Awarded $100+ Million NYCHA PACT Deal - the First of its Kind on Staten Island

NYCHA and resident leaders selected BFC Partners, CB Emmanuel, and Catholic Homes New York as the development team to carry out comprehensive repairs at the campus

NEW YORK, April 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) today announced that over $100 million in capital repair needs will be addressed for more than 1,400 residents of the West Brighton I & II developments on Staten Island through the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program, which will greatly improve living conditions at the campus. As a key step in this process, following a year of planning and engagement with residents, NYCHA and resident leaders have selected BFC Partners Development LLC, CB Emmanuel Realty LLC — a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) — and the non-profit organization Catholic Homes New York to provide comprehensive repairs to 574 apartments across 14 buildings at the site. BFC and CB Emmanuel will also lead as the general contractors, and Pinnacle City Living will serve as the day-to-day property manager when the property converts to Project-Based Section 8. The selection of the PACT partners was made by a resident review committee after an extensive community engagement process beginning in the fall of 2021. This process was supported by a technical advisor, Censere Consulting, through the PACT Resource Team. Resident review committee members reviewed and compared proposals submitted by potential partner teams and conducted interviews with proposing teams. The selected team will spend the next year working with residents to assess property conditions and develop rehabilitation, property management, and social services plans. Construction is slated to start in the summer of 2024.

"Today is a great day for the more than 1,400 New Yorkers who are going to get the safe, high-quality homes they deserve thanks to this partnership and the PACT program," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "Residents of West Brighton were clear about their priorities for these repairs, and they are going to get cleaner, safer, and more welcoming homes as a result. PACT is consistently delivering results for NYCHA residents across the city, and I'm excited to welcome West Brighton residents to that group."

"PACT partnerships are a proven tool to improve the conditions of our public housing. The Adams administration designed a tenant-driven process and implemented it alongside NYCHA residents so tenants can take control of decisions that affect the future of their housing developments," said Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz. "Congratulations to resident leaders at West Brighton on your selection of BFC Partners, CB Emmanuel Realty, Catholic Homes New York, and Pinnacle City Living."

"PACT remains one of our most successful and impactful tools for bringing large-scale investment into NYCHA properties and addressing the comprehensive repair needs that stem from aging infrastructure and decades of disinvestment," said NYCHA Interim CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt. "Today, we are excited to join resident leaders in moving a step closer to transformative renovations at West Brighton, with the selection of the PACT partner team a key milestone in this process."

"West Brighton Houses is in desperate need and is long overdue for these comprehensive repairs provided by the PACT program," said West Brighton Tenant Association President Shekina Butler. The quality of life for West Brighton's residents has declined over the years, and now it's time to celebrate the upcoming changes. While this has been a long and arduous process, we are thankful for the support of NYCHA and Censere Consulting to have finally chosen the partner team that we feel will best suit the needs of West Brighton residents."

"After working closely with resident leaders at West Brighton to understand their priorities, we are excited to make today's announcement," said NYCHA Executive Vice President for Real Estate Development Jonathan Gouveia. "The selected PACT partners understand the importance of working in continued partnership with our residents to provide their community with transformational investments. We look forward to seeing our work together continue."

During the resident engagement process, West Brighton residents expressed concerns with site-wide waste disposal systems and campus security; a desire to upgrade existing community spaces with enhanced social services; and the need for improved heating and hot water systems. They also expressed a desire to reactivate outdoor open spaces and shared recreational areas. Resident priorities will be addressed through investments in public spaces and community safety, landscaping, and building entryways. The partner team will leverage sloped grounds at the campus to create stormwater capture zones and build new community gardens for residents. Repairs will be made to existing community rooms, restoring their ability to be functional spaces to host community programs such as an on-site pantry and nutrition center.

Both developments will also see building security and access control upgrades, and a complete overhaul of building systems, including updates to the heating and cooling, water and plumbing, ventilation, and elevator systems. Every apartment will be completely renovated with new kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, windows, paint, doors, and other interventions to enhance residents' comfort and quality of life.

Additionally, as part of West Brighton's transformation, and in response to calls from resident leaders, two vacant bungalows at West Brighton II will be demolished and replaced with new affordable housing to be funded in partnership with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). NYCHA and HPD conducted a community planning workshop in November 2021 to solicit resident feedback on the design and programming of the new building. Based on the results of that workshop, the selected partner team committed to providing West Brighton residents with a new, expanded senior center, among other programs and amenities. The partner team will work closely with residents to design the new building, which is not expected to begin construction until after the rehabilitation work is largely complete.

"Life is about to be transformed and improved for the more than 1,400 New Yorkers living at NYCHA's West Brighton developments," said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. "In addition to repairs through PACT, HPD looks forward to continuing to work with NYCHA, residents, and the development team to build even more affordable housing and a senior center on under-used NYCHA land. We're glad to have partners who share our mission to deliver safe, affordable housing for all New Yorkers."

"Today's announcement is the latest milestone towards delivering comprehensive building improvements and enhanced social services to the residents of West Brighton I & II," said HDC President Eric Enderlin. "Congratulations to the development team and thank you to all our partners for helping to bring much-needed investment, guaranteed affordability and lasting tenant protections to New York City's public housing residents."

"We are honored to be selected as a PACT partner for West Brighton I & II," said BFC Partners Principal Joseph Ferrara. "Our firm has deep roots both in Staten Island and in the preservation and new construction of affordable housing, and the opportunity to preserve this housing stock for generations to come is one we are very grateful for."

"CB Emmanuel is excited to have been selected as co-developer for the West Brighton I & II portfolio," said CB Emmanuel Managing Partner R. Christopher Bramwell Jr. "As MBE co-developer, we look forward to creating opportunities for BIPOC vendors to participate in the renovation and redevelopment of this campus and look forward to establishing our presence alongside BFC and Catholic Homes in Staten Island."

"We are pleased that Catholic Homes New York and Catholic Charities of Staten Island are partnering with BFC and CB Emmanuel on this important project for West Brighton residents," said Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, Msgr. Kevin Sullivan. "This project will engage residents, renovate apartments, create new housing, and provide supportive social services to enhance the lives of the families living there and in the community. This is part of Catholic Charities' strategy to participate in effective initiatives to preserve and expand the stock of affordable housing for New Yorkers and ensure that all New Yorkers have a decent place to live at rents they can afford."

BFC Partners has extensive experience with affordable and mixed-income housing, included rehabilitation and new construction. BFC Partners has completed several NYCHA infill and senior development new construction projects, including Stapleton Seniors in Staten Island and Stonewall House in Brooklyn, as well as over 2,200 units of tenant-in-place rehabilitation. BFC Partners has strong ties to the community on the North Shore area of Staten Island. Founded in 1984, BFC Partners is dedicated to revitalizing communities and improving the lives of their residents and neighbors.

CB Emmanuel is a local MBE development firm founded in 2005 by R. Christopher Bramwell Jr. and Benathan Upshaw. CB Emmanuel has completed over 3,000 units of tenant-in-place rehabilitation and will draw on their expertise from across the New York metropolitan area in managing construction activities at West Brighton II.

Catholic Homes New York is a non-profit initiative led by Catholic Charities and the Archdiocese of New York that develops affordable housing for families and seniors throughout the region. In partnership with the Association of New York Catholic Homes and the New York Institute for Human Development, Catholic Homes New York creates new affordable homes and preserves existing units, continuing decades of work building strong, sustainable communities through affordable housing.

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. With today's designation, 138 NYCHA developments and just over 37,000 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 in order to bring the benefits of comprehensive apartment repairs and building upgrades, as well as enhanced property management and social services, to more than 142,000 residents. The New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), New York City's municipal Housing Finance Agency, is the key financing partner for PACT. In addition to providing or arranging the financing, HDC provides ongoing asset management and compliance for PACT transactions.

About BFC Partners
BFC Partners is a full-service, real estate development firm that creates community-first, urban development solutions. Since 1984, BFC has been at the forefront of developing high quality affordable, mixed-income, and market rate housing. We are dedicated to revitalizing communities and improving the lives of our residents and neighbors. As leaders in the field, our government, financial, and community partners seek us out to help start new programs and undertake complicated projects. For more information, please visit: https://www.bfcnyc.com/.

About the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the largest public housing authority in North America, was created in 1935 to provide decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. NYCHA is home to roughly 1 in 16 New Yorkers across over 177,000 apartments within 335 housing developments. NYCHA serves over 339,000 residents through the conventional public housing program (Section 9), over 29,000 residents at developments that have been converted to PACT/RAD, and over 92,000 families through federal rent subsidies (the Section 8 Leased Housing Program). In addition, NYCHA connects residents to opportunities in financial empowerment, business development, career advancement, and educational programs. With a housing stock that spans all five boroughs, NYCHA is a city within a city.              

SOURCE BFC Partners