Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 29, 2000

Release #-107-00

CONTACT: Sunny Mindel/Edward Skyler (212)788-2958
  Carol Abrams/Claire Simier (212) 863-5176 (HPD)



 

MAYOR GIULIANI AND COMMON GROUND COMMUNITY WELCOME RESIDENTS
TO THE NEWLY REHABILITATED PRINCE GEORGE HOTEL

Manhattan's East 28th Street Renovation Creates 416 Apartments for
Lower-Income and Formerly Homeless Tenants

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today reopened The Prince George Hotel -- in the 1980s was the City's most notorious welfare hotel -- as a permanent supportive residence for low-income and formerly homeless adults, including those with special needs.

"The Prince George was a once significant factor in the decline of this neighborhood, but today its revival spearheads the turnaround of a key area of Manhattan," said Mayor Giuliani. "New Yorkers are looking forward to it being a City treasure again, and to assisting those in need of housing. The City contributed over $12 million to this project through the Department of Housing Preservation and Development's Supportive Loan Program. Under this program, more than 5,500 apartments for people with special needs have been developed, and nearly 1,200 more are under construction."

Built in the first decade of the 20th Century to provide elegant lodging for visitors to the City, the Prince George started to deteriorate and by the 1980s it had fallen victim to physical decay, drug dealing and violence. In 1990, the Prince George was emptied of its families and closed.

Between 1997 and 1999 -- with $42 million in City, State, Federal and private money -- Common Ground Community, a nonprofit housing development and management group, transformed the Prince George Hotel into a majestic single-room-occupancy with efficiency apartments for low-income New Yorkers, formerly homeless individuals,people with AIDS and the mentally ill.

Rosanne Haggerty, Executive Director of Common Ground, said, "The Prince George offers more than just apartments for the 416 people who live here. It is a place where residents can connect with a vibrant community of support and work to regain independence and stability in their lives through counseling, community events, and job training and placement programs."

In addition, using private funds received through the sale of historic preservation tax credits, Common Ground restored many significant elements of the building, which has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Thanks to the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS), tenants have access to on-site social, medical and psychiatric services, and receive referrals to community resources. Together with Common Ground, tenants can access an array of community events and spaces within the building, and can participate in job training and placement programs. Qualifying tenants receive rental subsidies from the NYC Department of Aids Services, the New York State Office of Mental Health, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The three commercial tenants of the building will be required, as part of their lease, to provide training and employment opportunities to Prince George's residents and other supportive housing tenants from throughout the City.

"I am happy to live here because it's a beautiful building where I feel safe, and the low rent allows me to stay in this neighborhood that I love," said Gloria Gregory, a Prince George resident. "They did a very good job with the renovation. It really feels like home."

PRINCE GEORGE HOTEL - FUNDING SOURCES:

CAPITAL FUNDING

  • NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development
  • $12.6 million
  • NYS Office of Mental Health
  • $6.6 million
  • NYS Department of Social Services
    -Homeless Housing AssistanceProgram

  • $4.0 million
  • Low Income Housing Tax Credits
    [syndicated by Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Inc.]
    -JP Morgan Community Development
    -Fannie Mae

  • $9.0 million
    $9.0 million
    TOTAL DEVELOPMENT BUDGET:
    [including acquisition, rehabilitation, soft costs, fees, furnishings and equipment, interest on bridge financing, and reserves]
    $41.2 million

    BRIDGE FUNDING

  • MetLife
  • $5.0 million
  • JP Morgan
  • $1.5 million
  • Deutsche Bank
  • $1.5 million
  • Corporation for Supportive Housing
  • $300,000


    OPERATING AND SOCIAL SERVICES SUBSIDIES:

  • HUD SRO Moderate Rehabilitation
  • HUD Supportive Housing Program
  • NYC Human Resources Administration:
  • Department of AIDS Services and Income Support
  • NYC Department of Mental Health
  • NYC Department of Homeless Services SRO Support Subsidy
  • ARCHITECT

  • Beyer, Blinder, Belle

  • GENERAL CONTRACTOR

  • Sciame Construction
  •  

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