Hempstead Village affordable housing lottery opens with $1,256 for one-bedroom
Long Islanders searching for affordable apartment options can apply for one of 53 units available in Hempstead Village just steps from the Long Island Rail Road.
Estella, a five-story, 96-unit, apartment building, is accepting housing lottery applications through May 29 to select tenants who meet certain income criteria to pay below-market rents, according to nonprofit developer Concern Housing.
Rents at the five-story development start at $1,256 for a one-bedroom, with the majority of one-bedroom units available for $1,549 a month. A smaller number of two-bedroom units are available from $1,490 to $1,842.
Those rents are well below market rate for apartments in central Nassau County, where asking rents for a one-bedroom apartment average $2,814, according to property data and analytics firm CoStar. That data covers only professionally managed buildings with at least five units and excludes senior apartments and all-affordable housing developments such as Estella.
“You can’t rent anything close to as nice as this for those prices in this area,” said Elizabeth Lunde, Concern’s chief operating officer. “When you look at these incomes this really is workforce housing. This is for people who are largely employed who fall into that band of folks making too much in some cases for deeply affordable housing and too little for market-rate housing.”
Another 42 units in the building, at 150 Bedell St., are set aside for supportive housing for veterans and people with disabilities, with one unit reserved for the building’s superintendent. Concern will identify tenants for those units outside of the lottery process.
Among the lottery units, the cheapest rents are available to individuals earning at least $50,240 but no more than $57,750 for an individual or $66,000 for a couple. The most a four-person household could earn and live in Estella is $98,940, according to income guidelines.
The rents are designed to be affordable to people earning 50% to 60% of Long Island’s area median income because rents do not exceed 30% of a household’s annual income, which meets federal standards for affordability.
Even with that narrow criteria, Lunde said Concern Housing expects to receive far more applications than the 53 units that are available.
“We typically get hundreds of applications, if not more, when we open a new property like this,” Lunde said, noting the criteria are based on state requirements.
Those who do qualify will be able to stay in their apartment even if their income rises. “If people’s incomes go up after they move in, we congratulate them,” she said.
Concern co-developed the $72.4 million property with Georgica Green Ventures, using a combination of state financing, low-income housing tax credits and other public and private sources. The site for Estella was previously used as a parking lot for a school bus company.
Across the street, affordable housing developer Conifer is building a $155 million, 228-unit development that will feature ground-floor retail, including a Compare Fresh supermarket, Newsday previously reported. That building, 159 Main St., is slated to open next year.
Estella can help village residents and other Long Islanders interested in living in Hempstead who have struggled to find an affordable place, said Hempstead Mayor Waylyn Hobbs Jr. He said his office frequently hears from village residents looking for housing, and he hopes Estella and other new housing in the village will attract young professionals and businesses.
“It presents a great opportunity for some of our young professionals here on Long Island that find it difficult to find a place to stay or to afford to have somewhere to stay,” he said.
In March, New York State awarded the village $10 million through its Downtown Revitalization Initiative, and after an application process, it will choose from proposed projects that include new housing but also streetscape improvements and a new dining and entertainment corridor.
While the village has embraced projects like Estella, Hobbs said he would like to see affordable options built in neighboring communities, such as Garden City and Rockville Centre.
The two developments will help deliver apartments near transit that local residents can afford, said Brandy Watson, president of Hempstead Community Land Trust, a nonprofit focused on creating affordable homeownership.
“These two projects are going to bring housing affordability to so many people who need it,” said Watson, who has lived in Hempstead since 1973.
Applicants can mail applications to Concern Housing C/O Estella Apartments, P.O. BOX 335, Hempstead, NY 11551. More information is available at www.concernhousing.org.
Long Islanders searching for affordable apartment options can apply for one of 53 units available in Hempstead Village just steps from the Long Island Rail Road.
Estella, a five-story, 96-unit, apartment building, is accepting housing lottery applications through May 29 to select tenants who meet certain income criteria to pay below-market rents, according to nonprofit developer Concern Housing.
Rents at the five-story development start at $1,256 for a one-bedroom, with the majority of one-bedroom units available for $1,549 a month. A smaller number of two-bedroom units are available from $1,490 to $1,842.
Those rents are well below market rate for apartments in central Nassau County, where asking rents for a one-bedroom apartment average $2,814, according to property data and analytics firm CoStar. That data covers only professionally managed buildings with at least five units and excludes senior apartments and all-affordable housing developments such as Estella.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Estella, a new five-story apartment building in Hempstead Village, is accepting applications through May 29 for 53 affordable apartments for a housing lottery.
- Rents range from $1,256 for a one-bedroom to $1,842 to a two-bedroom for prospective tenants who meet criteria based on their income and household size.
- The new building is part of the revitalization of downtown Hempstead, which recently received a $10 million boost from New York State.
“You can’t rent anything close to as nice as this for those prices in this area,” said Elizabeth Lunde, Concern’s chief operating officer. “When you look at these incomes this really is workforce housing. This is for people who are largely employed who fall into that band of folks making too much in some cases for deeply affordable housing and too little for market-rate housing.”
Another 42 units in the building, at 150 Bedell St., are set aside for supportive housing for veterans and people with disabilities, with one unit reserved for the building’s superintendent. Concern will identify tenants for those units outside of the lottery process.
Among the lottery units, the cheapest rents are available to individuals earning at least $50,240 but no more than $57,750 for an individual or $66,000 for a couple. The most a four-person household could earn and live in Estella is $98,940, according to income guidelines.
The rents are designed to be affordable to people earning 50% to 60% of Long Island’s area median income because rents do not exceed 30% of a household’s annual income, which meets federal standards for affordability.
Even with that narrow criteria, Lunde said Concern Housing expects to receive far more applications than the 53 units that are available.
“We typically get hundreds of applications, if not more, when we open a new property like this,” Lunde said, noting the criteria are based on state requirements.
Those who do qualify will be able to stay in their apartment even if their income rises. “If people’s incomes go up after they move in, we congratulate them,” she said.
Concern co-developed the $72.4 million property with Georgica Green Ventures, using a combination of state financing, low-income housing tax credits and other public and private sources. The site for Estella was previously used as a parking lot for a school bus company.
Development in Hempstead
Across the street, affordable housing developer Conifer is building a $155 million, 228-unit development that will feature ground-floor retail, including a Compare Fresh supermarket, Newsday previously reported. That building, 159 Main St., is slated to open next year.
Estella can help village residents and other Long Islanders interested in living in Hempstead who have struggled to find an affordable place, said Hempstead Mayor Waylyn Hobbs Jr. He said his office frequently hears from village residents looking for housing, and he hopes Estella and other new housing in the village will attract young professionals and businesses.
“It presents a great opportunity for some of our young professionals here on Long Island that find it difficult to find a place to stay or to afford to have somewhere to stay,” he said.
In March, New York State awarded the village $10 million through its Downtown Revitalization Initiative, and after an application process, it will choose from proposed projects that include new housing but also streetscape improvements and a new dining and entertainment corridor.
While the village has embraced projects like Estella, Hobbs said he would like to see affordable options built in neighboring communities, such as Garden City and Rockville Centre.
The two developments will help deliver apartments near transit that local residents can afford, said Brandy Watson, president of Hempstead Community Land Trust, a nonprofit focused on creating affordable homeownership.
“These two projects are going to bring housing affordability to so many people who need it,” said Watson, who has lived in Hempstead since 1973.
Applicants can mail applications to Concern Housing C/O Estella Apartments, P.O. BOX 335, Hempstead, NY 11551. More information is available at www.concernhousing.org.
Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.
SARRA SOUNDS OFF: Interview with Pat-Med's Jayden Stroman On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," an interview with Patchogue-Medford pitcher Jayden Stroman, plus Long Island's top football scholar-athletes are honored.
SARRA SOUNDS OFF: Interview with Pat-Med's Jayden Stroman On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," an interview with Patchogue-Medford pitcher Jayden Stroman, plus Long Island's top football scholar-athletes are honored.
