FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 17, 1999

Contact:
Carol Abrams
(212) 863-5176

New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Richard T. Roberts has announced that eleven developers have been selected to develop over 300 homes under the HomeWorks Program.

This HomeWorks Round II announcement concerns the development of 105, one- to four-family homes in 13 sites in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens which will create 226 separate units of housing. Additionally, 15 buildings in Harlem will be rehabilitated to create approximately 83 condominiums.

Said Commissioner Richard T. Roberts, "HomeWorks has already contributed greatly to our efforts to reclaim and revitalize neighborhoods. We are building on our past successes and bolstering investments that we have already made in these neighborhoods. Working with our partners we are creating thriving communities and broadening homeownership opportunities."

The HomeWorks Program creates homeownership opportunities by rehabilitating small, vacant, city-owned buildings for sale at market prices thus minimizing the governmental subsidy required. Construction will be done in phases. The first construction starts are slated for Spring 2000. The developers will begin marketing the units in Fall 1999.

Under the HomeWorks Program, clusters of buildings are sold to experienced developers at $1 per building. The developers are responsible for designing the homes, securing private market financing, undertaking construction, and marketing the homes. There are no maximum income restrictions for home buyers, nor restrictions on incomes or rents for any of the rental units. Buildings must remain owner occupied for six years.

Round 1 of the HomeWorks Program led to the development of 234 multi-family homes on 12 sites located in Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens and created 643 separate units of housing.

Below are the names of the Round II developers, names of the principals, the sites they have been selected to rehabilitate and the phone numbers for the marketing agents of the various projects. The developers were selected as a result of a Request for Proposals (RFP) which was issued in December 1998.

HPD's mission is to promote quality housing and viable neighborhoods for New Yorkers. The department is the nation's largest municipal housing development agency. Since Fiscal year 1994, the agency has constructed or rehabilitated nearly 58,000 units of affordable housing.