HPD Seeks Partners to Build More Supportive Housing in Fight Against Homelessness
May 4, 2023
Competitive process will establish a list of qualified developers to build supportive housing on city-owned land
Advances Housing Our Neighbors commitment to accelerating the creation of 15,000 supportive housing
New York, NY – As the city faces a dire housing and homelessness crisis, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is calling for qualified developers to step forward to provide stable housing and supportive services to the most vulnerable New Yorkers. The City’s housing development agency is launching a competitive Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process designed to establish a list of qualified supportive housing developers. This will help meet the commitment made in the Mayor’s Housing Our Neighbors Blueprint to accelerate the creation 15,000 supportive housing by 2028, two years earlier than originally planned.
“For our most vulnerable neighbors, affordable housing alone is not enough. Supportive housing provides a powerful and effective solution for New Yorkers experiencing chronic homelessness and serious mental health or substance abuse challenges. That’s why we’re accelerating the production of supportive housing, and we need experienced, mission-driven partners to join us in this work,” said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr.
The aim of the RFQ is to attract a diverse group of developers that can be called on to create supportive housing that meet HPD’s high standards for design, development, and planning on City-owned sites. Qualified developers must be non-profits with the experience and capacity needed to develop and manage supportive housing. The non-profit requirement reflects the nature of on-site services required for supportive housing and is in line with HPD’s Equitable Ownership Requirement that a non-profit or minority or women-owned business enterprise owns at least 25% of any affordable housing project on city-owned land. Applicants will also be evaluated based on plans to partners with M/WBEs and past community engagement.
“Our nonprofit development partners truly understand the needs of our communities and we look forward to our continued work together to ensure more New Yorkers have access to safe and stable housing, along with the supportive services they need to thrive,” said NYC Housing Development Corporation President Eric Enderlin. “Today’s request for qualifications will help us achieve the City’s supportive housing goals while attracting a diverse set of providers in this important effort.”
“Affordable supportive housing is a critical tool in the City’s efforts to address homelessness, so we are delighted to see HPD prioritizing the creation of new, high-quality supportive housing developments on city-owned land,” said NYC Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park. “We look forward to working with HPD and our other partner agencies to connect even more vulnerable New Yorkers to the housing opportunities and services they need and deserve while continuing to find new and impactful ways to support New Yorkers in need.”
“NYC Health + Hospitals is committed to helping our homeless patients find housing as part of our Housing for Health initiative, and that includes creating over 650 new units of affordable and supportive housing in the next five years,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Assistant Vice President of Housing and Real Estate Leora Jontef. “HPD is an essential partner is this endeavor, and we’re excited for the new RFQ to bring more developers into the fold so we can build homes for more New Yorkers.”
“Housing is health,” said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “Tackling the housing crisis goes hand-in-hand with tackling our city's mental health crisis. Additional supportive housing units will help ease the stressors that come with experiencing homelessness and create stability for our neighbors in need - offering an opportunity for people to care for themselves in a safe environment. We commend our colleagues for their work to support New Yorkers.”
New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “The State applauds HPD's commitment to tackling the homelessness crisis through the creation of new housing with supportive services available to those who need them. By working towards their goal of creating 15,000 new supportive homes within New York City in the next five years, HPD is improving the lives of countless New Yorkers in need and their families, while building a fairer, safer and more modern metropolis for future generations.”
The last Supportive Housing RFQ was released in 2013. Fifteen sites were designated using the pre-qualified list, and combined, these sites will create over 2,200 affordable and supportive homes for New Yorkers, including over 1,200 homes for formerly homeless individuals or families. Roughly half of these homes are completed or in construction, and the other half are in pre-development. Comunilife Throop Residence, a partnership between HPD, NYC Health + Hospitals, and Comunilife is the most recent project to break ground, and it will bring 93 affordable and supportive homes for patients of NYC Health +Hospitals experiencing homelessness as well as low-income New Yorkers and seniors.
After the new list of qualified developers is established, HPD plans to award additional city-owned sites for supportive housing.
Interested developers can view the RFQ materials and apply using the link here. The deadline to apply is June 15, 2023.
“We welcome this RFQ, which signals the City’s intent to continue to develop much-needed supportive housing with mission-driven nonprofit developers on underutilized City-owned sites. This program is a critical tool in easing the homelessness crisis and facilitating the delivery of safe, affordable units coupled with case management services that have been proven to keep unhoused New Yorkers off the streets and help them succeed in the long term. We congratulate our City partners for taking this important step and look forward to working with them in the coming months and years,” Pascale Leone, Supportive Housing Network of NY executive director.
“Our city is experiencing an unprecedented housing crisis, and creating more supportive housing must be part of an effective solution to homelessness and housing instability. Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) is thrilled to see the city commit scarce land and resources to accelerate much-needed supportive housing development. This RFQ and the opportunities that follow are critical for providing safe, affordable housing for all New Yorkers, particularly those experiencing homelessness,” said Patricia Hernandez, Director of CSH Metro NY, NJ, and PA.
“Throughout our history, Enterprise has been proud to support many supportive housing providers in their work to bring homes and services to individuals and families in need,” said Baaba Halm, Vice President and New York Market Leader, Enterprise Community Partners. “Our collective partnership with HPD is critical to bringing these properties to life. We look forward to continuing to do our part to fulfill this incredibly important need.”