Tredway files to build senior housing in Coney Island

What’s old is new again in Coney Island, where Will Blodgett’s Tredway is moving forward with plans to build affordable housing for senior citizens just blocks from the ocean.

The developer filed an application last week with the Department of Buildings for a 180,000-square-foot infill project with 250 new apartments at 2828 West 28th Street, on a parking lot across Neptune Avenue from Kaiser Park.

The site is one of three in Coney Island that Tredway bought last year from Arker Companies, including 2970 West 27th Street and 2930 West 30th Street, for $150 million.

“Seniors deserve to age in place with the dignity and respect they’ve earned,” said Blodgett, a for-profit builder of affordable housing. “We found that 70 percent of seniors in the area are rent-burdened, and senior housing was identified by the city as the most critical need in the community.”

One in four Coney Island residents are at least 65 years old, about 40 percent higher than the citywide rate of about 15 percent.

To fund construction, Tredway will use the city’s Senior Affordable Rental Apartments program, known as SARA, using bonds issued by the city as well as Low Income Housing Tax Credits — a financing formula that is familiar to affordable housing developers.

Units in the new building will be a mix of studios and one-bedrooms. Residents will need to be at least 62 years old with an income capped at 60 percent of area median income, and 30 percent of units will be set aside for homeless seniors who are at least 55 years old, according to SARA regulations.

Located near the seashore, the new building at 2828 West 28th Street will be elevated to meet the projected sea level rise through 2080, according to Tredway’s application. A recent study found that aging populations are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise; younger residents are more likely to move away from areas affected by climate change.

With Gilbane as a development partner, Blodgett hopes to break ground later this year. Non-profit Jasa Housing and ELH Mgmt are also in on the project.

Last month in Fort Greene, Tredway bought a 193-unit portfolio of affordable housing units for $90 million. A regulatory agreement will keep them affordable for another 40 years.

Blodgett started Tredway in 2021 after an acrimonious split with Fairstead, the nationwide affordable housing firm he co-founded with Jeff Goldberg. Tredway and Fairstead are in arbitration while litigation is ongoing.

Coney Island, with its combination of ocean proximity, subway access and relatively low land prices, has become a popular destination for developers in recent years.

Tishman Speyer, one of the city’s most prolific developers, is building a planned community dubbed Edgemere Commons on a nine-acre site once home to Peninsula Hospital. It is slated to have more than 2,000 apartments.

Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities has proposed a $3 billion casino development on land it owns from Stillwell Avenue to West 12th Street, although it would require a gaming license from the state. In a break from the housing trend, industrial developer Prologis scooped up an undeveloped parcel along Neptune Avenue with plans for vehicle storage.

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