nehemiah housing development fund company, inc.

NYSAFAH
2010
AWARDS
FOR
EXCELLENCE
NOMINATION
FORM
DEADLINE:
MARCH
2,
2010
For
multiple
nominations,
please
copy
this
form
and
submit
separately.
Name
and
company
of
NYSAFAH
member
making
the
nomination:
Mr.
Joel
B.
Mounty,
Mountco
Construction
and
Development
Corp.
.
I
wish
to
make
a
nomination
in
the
following
area
(you
may
check
more
than
one):

Innovator

Advocate

Not‐for‐Profit
Partner

Project
of
the
Year
(Upstate)
X
Project
of
the
Year
(Downstate)
Name
of
nominee(s)
(individual(s)
or
project
name):
Nehemiah
Spring
Creek
Affordable
Housing
Development,
Phase
One
Mr.
Ron
Waters,
General
Manager
and
Director,
Nehemiah
Housing
Development
Fund
Co.
with
Mr.
Alexander
Gorlin,
Principal,
Alexander
Gorlin
Architects
Nominee
contact
info:
Contact
person
Mr.
Ron
Waters
.
Affiliation
Director
and
General
Manager,
Nehemiah
Affordable
Housing
Development
Fund
.
Address
551
Vandalia
Avenue
.
City/State/Zip
Brooklyn,
NY
11207
.
Phone
718.498.4041
Fax
718.642.2744
Email
[email protected]
Government
agency
reference
(required:
agency,
contact
person,
phone
number):
New
York
City
Department
of
Housing,
Preservation
and
Development,
Lenny
Seif,
212.863.6421
Bank/funder
reference
(if
applicable:
bank/funder
name,
contact
person,
phone
number):
________________________________________________________________
Please
attach
a
statement
describing
why
this
person
or
organization
should
receive
this
award.
For
project
of
the
year,
please
include
location,
number
of
units
and
date
placed
into
service
and
attach
a
photo
or
photos.
We
urge
you
to
submit
any
letters
of
support
for
the
nomination
which
you
think
are
appropriate
or
contact
information
for
other
housing
professionals
who
are
familiar
with
the
individual
/
project
and
that
would
support
your
nomination.
Please
submit
your
complete
nomination
no
later
than
March
2.
Upon
review
additional
information
may
be
requested
to
further
consider
your
nomination.
Please
return
this
information
to
us
no
later
than
March
2
by
email
to
[email protected].
Digital
submissions
are
preferred.
If
you
have
questions
or
need
more
information,
contact
Elizabeth
at
718‐432‐2100,
extension
11.
The New York State Association For Affordable Housing
2010 Awards For Excellence
Project Location:
Name of Nominator:
Award Category:
Number of Units:
Date of Project Completion:
Nehemiah Spring Creek Affordable Housing Development,
East New York, Brooklyn, NY 11239
Mr. Joel B. Mounty
Mountco Construction and Development Corp.
Project of the Year
184 total units, 117 town houses
March 2009
Project Description:
Covering 36 acres of former landfill in East New York, Brooklyn, the Spring Creek
development is the largest affordable housing development to be built in New York City in
three decades. It is the culmination of 30 years of efforts by community leaders, headed by the
East Brooklyn Congregations (EBC), to rebuild their neighborhood, which had been devastated
by poverty, drugs and crime.
The site is being developed by the EBC’s development arm, the Nehemiah Housing
Development Fund Co., in five phases that will ultimately create 1,467 new units of affordable
housing for low-income, first-time homeowners. Alexander Gorlin Architects has been
responsible for master planning the new residential neighborhood and designing the modern,
modular townhouses for the first phase.
The houses were built as individual units at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, then trucked seven miles
to the site and pieced together into two-, three- and four-story townhouses. The modular
construction process brought the enormous efficiencies of mass production: Start-to-finish
construction of each unit was completed in 12 days at a cost of $140/sq.ft. These cost savings
were passed on directly to the homeowners, with prices starting at $158,000 for a one-family
home.
The 117 townhouses that make up Phase One sold out fully prior to completion in March
2009. As a result of Nehemiah’s careful assessment of each homeowner’s personal finances,
the mortgage delinquency rate has been less than 1% among homeowners in all of Nehemiah’s
developments, Spring Creek included.
--------Letters of support, enclosed:
Mr. Michael Gecan, Lead Organizer, East Brooklyn Congregations
Mr. Ron Waters, General Manager and Director, Nehemiah Housing Development Fund Co.
EAST BROOKLYN CONGREGATIONS
551 VANDALIA AVENUE
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK 11239
February 27, 2010
To Whom It May Concern:
I began as lead organizer of East Brooklyn Congregations in September of 1980 and have worked with
the organization in a variety of ways ever since. Starting in the 1983, EBC began building the
Nehemiah homes – new homes affordable to many of the residents of what was then a community in
decline and great distress. Since then, we have rebuilt large portions of the area and have helped
stimulate a period of revitalization and renewal there.
Our most recent homes, in the new community that we are constructing at Spring Creek, were designed
by the firm of Alexander Gorlin Architects. Mr. Gorlin and his associates have brought all of their
creativity and sensitivity to the design and construction of the 1,500 new housing units being built
there. Mr. Gorlin has demonstrated the ability to do many other projects, at the very highest end of the
market, that provide his company with greater financial rewards. But he has committed the same level
of intensity and consistency to our efforts at Spring Creek over many years. He has not just talked the
talk of giving something back to the larger New York community; he has walked the walk.
The result is an attractive, stylish, even elegant new community of homes in the southeastern most
corner of Brooklyn. Several hundred units have already been completed, sold, and occupied. Several
hundred more are now under construction. Mr. Gorlin has understood, from the start, that the homes
needed to remain affordable, while also being designed in an attractive way. He has managed that
tension expertly all through the planning and implementation stages of this effort.
Our efforts have received notice recently in a report done by NPR, as well as a column written by Jim
Dwyer of the New York Times.
We value enormously the role that Alexander Gorlin and his team have played in this latest and largest
phase of Nehemiah construction. He has earned recognition for his efforts many times over.
Sincerely,
Michael Gecan
East Brooklyn Congregations/Industrial Areas Foundation
NEHEMIAH HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND COMPANY, INC.
Sponsored by East Brooklyn Congregations
551 Vandalia Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11239-2809
Te l. (718) 642-2330, Fax (718) 642-2744
February 24, 2010
NYSAFAH Project of the Year
2010 Awards For Excellence
To Whom It May Concern:
For the past two and one half decades the Nehemiah Housing Development Fund Co., Inc. has
been actively engaged in the rebuilding of large sections of New York City’s available cityowned empty lots, namely in the boroughs of Brooklyn and the Bronx, through the construction
of affordable housing units. Under the sponsorship of a consortium of churches, led in Brooklyn
by the St. Paul Community Baptist Church, the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, and others,
in addition to the NYC Department of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD), the
Nehemiah program has been able to provide affordable housing for low and moderate income
families. To date, the number of homes completed and occupied adds up to 2,900.
The Spring Creek development, the most recent program, will total an additional 1,500 dwelling
units. Over 100 new homes have already been occupied as part of Phase 1, and with Phase 2 now
underway, the total dwelling units will increase to 360. There are three more phases to be built.
Strict financial screening guidelines have been carefully observed from the very outset of our
programs. This practice has served us well and has allowed us to avoid the housing and mortgage
debacle that has occurred over the past few years. Our records show that Nehemiah mortgage
delinquencies are less than 1 percent. Extraordinary! Needless to say, the Nehemiah program has
been and still is a national success story.
Starting with this new millennium, Nehemiah HDFC at the Spring Creek site in East Brooklyn
has formed a collaboration of a leading architectural firm, Alexander Gorlin Architects, and an
experienced modular housing builder, the Monadnock Construction Co. In addition, there are
several other talented professional consultants working to complete subsequent phases of our
affordable housing program on time and within budget. We are confident that we will continue to
meet the needs of a very deserving population.
Submitted,
Ron Waters
General Manager and Director
Nehemiah Housing Development Fund Co.
MASTER PLAN FOR ENTIRE 5-PHASE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT (Phase 1 Shaded)
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
PHASE ONE SITE PLAN
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
OLD VANDALIA STREET
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
ESSEX STREET
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
Essex STREET
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
Linwood Street
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
REAR OF OLD VANDALIA STREET
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
ERSKINE PLACE
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
TYPICAL TWO-FAMILY TOWNHOUSE FLOOR PLANS
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
TYPICAL SINGLE-FAMILY TOWNHOUSE FLOOR PLANS
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
ONE-FAMILY TOWNHOUSE ELEVATIONS
Street View
Rear View
TWO-FAMILY TOWNHOUSE ELEVATIONS
Street View
Rear View
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
ONE-FAMILY TOWNHOUSE ELEVATIONS
Street View
Rear View
THREE-FAMILY TOWNHOUSE ELEVATIONS
Street View
Rear View
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects
SITE CONDITIONS, 2000
NEW HOMEOWNERS AT RIBBON CUTTING, 2009
2010 NYSAFAH Project of the Year
Nehemiah Spring Creek, Phase One
Alexander Gorlin Architects