City, County and State officials joined with the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers (MHACY) and The Community Builders (TCB) on October 29 to celebrate the completion of 172 Warburton at The Ridgeway, a new $53.5 million transformative mixed-income residential community in Southwest Yonkers.
172 Warburton at The Ridgeway continues the strong partnership between MHACY and TCB to transform Southwest Yonkers by replacing three outdated Cottage Place Gardens public housing buildings and a vacant, dilapidated three-story residence with a new, energy efficient eight-story elevator residential building containing 85 housing units, a 181-unit parking garage for residents of this project phase as well as the broader Ridgeway development.
An exciting and innovative feature of the project is a new universal pre-kindergarten center located at the street level of 172 Warburton and is operated by WestCOP to serve both lower-income families at The Ridgeway communities and the broader neighborhood. The pre-K center includes eight classrooms, a multi-purpose room, a commercial kitchen, staff offices, and an outdoor play area.
“Southwest Yonkers has a vibrant history, and this new public housing complex will provide residents with modern, high-quality affordable homes while also strengthening the entire community,” said Governor Kathy Hochul. “This neighborhood is vibrant and inclusive, and with our ongoing investment to provide New Yorkers with new housing opportunities, this city will continue to grow and thrive.”
NYS Housing and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “In partnership with MHACY and The Community Builders, we are driving the complete transformation of this neighborhood by replacing outdated buildings with modern apartments and a new pre-kindergarten facility to benefit the entire community. With the completion of 172 Warburton, our investment has yielded 327 newly constructed homes across four phases of development. By financing the preservation and reinvention of our aging but vital public housing, we are ensuring that more New Yorkers have access to safe, affordable homes in newly thriving communities like Southwest Yonkers.”
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano said: “The redevelopment of Cottage Gardens into The Ridgeway is yet another example of how Yonkers is revitalizing our neighborhoods and improving the lives of all our residents. As we see luxury housing rising along the riverfront, it is also important that we provide quality affordable housing so all boats rise with the tide. We thank New York State for making this possible and commend the leadership of MHACY and The Community Builders on this very significant development,” said Mayor Mike Spano.
MHACY President and CEO Wilson Kimball said: “Not since the Yonkers downtown daylighting have so many layers of government come together to serve the needs of our tenants. 172 Warburton is the type of Public Private Partnership that shows these partnerships produce terrific results, we are very grateful to NYS, Westchester County, the City of Yonkers and our partners at The Community Builders for making this level of quality affordable housing available to our tenants.’’
New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said:
“172-Warburton-The Ridgeway is an example of what can be done when multiple levels of government and the private sector work together. I am pleased to lead a Senate that is focused on funding affordable housing and education, high priorities for me. This development combines both: modern, affordable apartments and a Pre-K school on site. I appreciate the efforts of the various state agencies including the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, the Department of Environmental Conservation and Empire State Development who worked together to make this wonderful project a reality.
President and CEO of The Community Builders, Inc., Bart Mitchell said: “Today marks another milestone in the Yonkers renaissance as the doors at 172 Warburton at the Ridgeway open for 85 families to move into new, quality, affordable homes. Just as importantly, over 100 Yonkers children will experience state of the art early childhood education operated by WestCOP. On behalf of our organization, I extend my deepest thanks and a well-earned congratulations to the many partners and leaders who made this project possible, including NYS HCR, the City of Yonkers, Westchester County, our elected leaders, our funders, our residents, our neighbors, and our development partners at MHACY.”
Westchester County Executive George Latimer said: “172 Warburton is the perfect example of multiple levels of government working together to best serve our residents and our communities. Westchester County was happy to support this development with $5 million toward creating a new park and playground and connecting the water line in the neighborhood. The redevelopment of the older public housing units in the County with 85 new quality, affordable units has helped to transform this community in a very positive way.”
The unit mix of the 104,773-square-foot building includes 39 one-bedrooms, 31 two-bedrooms, and 15 three-bedrooms with a range of affordability.
The project has had a significant economic impact, creating or preserving over 150 construction jobs over a 24-month construction period. The project also employed dozens of engineers, architects, lawyers, consultants and others in the development and finance industries, utilizing MWBE and local businesses. 172 Warburton also will employ at least 30 full-time staff to operate the pre-K center and two to four new, full-time property management and maintenance positions.
MHACY, the second largest housing authority in the state behind NYC, is a model for the state and nation. In addition to its partnership with TCB in the redevelopment of Cottage Place Gardens, MHACY has been undergoing a major housing restoration over the past 5 years. Under the federal RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration) program more than 1,700 units have been renovated.