Construction starts on Rockaway housing development
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Stakeholders gathered in Rockaway last week for the groundbreaking of Edgemere Commons. Photo courtesy of The Arker Companies & Slate
By Rachel Vick
Queens and state officials gathered in Rockaway last Thursday to break ground on a multi-use affordable housing development.
Edgemere Commons, a 17-story complex that began the rezoning process the summer before the pandemic, will be constructed on the site of the former Peninsula Hospital Center.
"We are today one step closer to achieving the vision laid out by this community for a revitalized Edgemere, one that generations will be proud to call home,” said Dan Moritz, of developer The Arker Companies. “From providing much needed affordable housing, to eradicating a food desert, to bringing jobs, open space, and retail into the peninsula, this community will finally receive the investment it deserves so that Edgemere can thrive."
The first building will feature 194 affordable apartments, 23,000 square-feet of ground floor retail space, including a supermarket which was added in response to concerns from the residents of the food desert. It will also include 24,000 square-feet of parking.
There will be 29 apartments for adults with developmental disabilities and another 30 for adults experiencing homelessness, with on-site supportive services.
The building is the first phase of an 11-phase redevelopment that will ultimately include 2,000 homes, retail, community and public space.
"Edgemere Commons represents a major milestone in our shared effort to create a sustainable, resilient, and amenity-filled community that will bring much-needed and long-overdue affordable and supportive housing to the families of Rockaway,” said Borough President Donovan Richards, who supported the project as councilmember and during his candidacy for borough president. “After years of blight stemming from the closure of the old Peninsula Hospital, the revolutionary Edgemere Commons is now one step closer to reality.”
State financing for the first phase includes $14.7 million in permanent tax-exempt bonds and Federal Low-Income Tax Credits that will generate $47.7 million equity from New York State Homes and Community Renewal.
The New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities is providing $5 million in support. OMH will be providing $750,000 annually to subsidize supportive units through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative and $258,000 in Program Development Grant start-up costs.
"Edgemere Commons is a transformative development that will improve the lives of residents and strengthen the entire Far Rockaway community for decades to come," said Governor Kathy Hochul. "By investing in this $100 million mixed-use development, we are creating high-quality housing, medical services, commercial activity and public space that reenergize neighborhoods and build a more inclusive, safe, and vibrant community for all."
