Office of Borough President James P. Molinaro
Staten Island, New York
B.P. Molinaro unveils plans for senior living campus at Sea View
Two-phase development to provide housing, services for underserved population
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y., August 5, 2009 – Government officials, a not-for-profit group and a Staten Island-based developer unveiled plans today for a “Senior Living Campus” that will provide 345 units of housing for seniors in the Willowbrook section of Staten Island. The project will occupy approximately 15 acres of land to the north of Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center and Home on the east side of Brielle Avenue.
Staten Island Borough President James P. Molinaro, New York City Councilman James S. Oddo, Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council) CEO William E. Rapfogel, Leewood Real Estate Group CEO R. Randy Lee and New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky gathered at Sea View to announce that a contract of sale has been reached for the purchase of the property from the City and to describe the details of the project. The announcement was the culmination of nearly 10 years of debate and planning to move the project to the point where work can begin.
An affiliate of Leewood Real Estate Group, Leewood-Sea View LLP, and Met Council are co-developers on the project. Met Council also will recruit and qualify applicants for the apartments and provide services to residents. The development will be the first in the city to offer both independent and assisted living residences to moderate-to-middle income New Yorkers.
According to Borough President Molinaro, “This development couldn’t come at a better time. Staten Island has the highest concentration of seniors in the city, and the percentage of residents older than 65 is expected to double in the next two decades. There’s obviously a great need for the Senior Living Campus, and I applaud this public-private partnership on behalf of our Borough’s 73,000 seniors.”
Councilman Oddo said, “Wonderful things are happening on the Sea View campus. Earlier this summer we celebrated the grand opening of 104 units of affordable senior housing on the other side of the campus at the old Nurse’s Residence, and now great progress is underway on this project that ultimately will provide 345 additional units for our seniors. Hopefully these projects will beget additional similar projects on or near the Sea View campus because the needcertainly exists.This project is ten years in the making and I look forward to getting a shovel in the ground.”
“We are excited to provide unprecedented and affordable assisted living opportunities for Staten Island seniors,” said Rapfogel. “By working together with our partners in real estate and government who have demonstrated such dedication to this project, we hope to continue working until all senior citizens in Staten Island and beyond have access to safe and affordable housing.”
“From Leewood’s research in connection with another senior residence we are developing, we learned that Staten Island residents do not want to move to New Jersey to find quality housing after their nests empty out,” said Lee. “Staten Island is where their friends, family, doctors, and dentists are and it is where they want to stay. Now they will have the kind of quality housing – both affordable and market rate – that makes it possible.”
“This is a great day for the senior citizens of Staten Island and New York more generally,” said NYCEDC President Pinsky. “Ensuring that all of the City’s older residents have the opportunity to remain in their communities is good urban planning policy that helps to ensure the diversity and vitality of our neighborhoods. I am pleased that EDC has been a part of this important project since its inception and was able to play a role in bringing it to fruition.”
Phase I includes the project’s infrastructure, a multi-story building that will house 170 seniors in 132 rooms who require assistance with some day-to-day activities, and the rehabilitation of the landmarked Director’s Residence building. It also will include the Commons Building, which will provide space for social gatherings and act as an activities center for the entire Sea View North Senior Living Campus community. The building will house a billiards room, lap pool, business center, a computer lab, fitness center, library, meeting room for classes and clubs and an auditorium suitable for performances.
Phase II will include an affordable multi-story building with 70 units and two multi-story market rate buildings for seniors who do not require assistance. Unit sizes range from studios to three-bedroom apartments.
Met Council will arrange for services for residents of the assisted living component of the complex, including meals, personal care, weekly housekeeping, laundry service, social services, referrals to medical and mental health services, recreational activities and transportation to shipping and community facilities. The on-site assisted living facility staff will provide case management, referrals to off-site healthcare agencies, benefits and entitlements information and other services. Many of these services will also be available on an ala carte basis to the residents of the independent living condominiums.
NYCEDC negotiated the sale of the property on behalf of the City. The contract calls for the land to be deeded to Met Council’s Sea View Senior Living Corp. by the end of 2009 with construction expected to begin in the first quarter of next year. Completion of Phase I is anticipated in late 2011.
Total cost of Phase I of the project is $65 million with New York City providing $45 million in funding. Councilman Oddo was instrumental in securing that assistance, which will help ensure affordability for moderate to middle income New Yorkers. Staten Island Borough President Molinaro provided a $5 million grant that will help ensure affordability, particularly to the independent living condominiums, and for creating the auditorium with live performance capability in the Commons Building.
The Phase II parcel for the independent living condominium residences will be conveyed by Sea View Senior Living Corp. to Leewood-Sea View LLP, a Leewood Real Estate Group company
August 5, 2009