Hardscrabble Apartments in Farmingdale to be sold, renovated for $27 million by a Manhattan developer

A Farmingdale apartment complex for low-income seniors would get a face-lift and a new owner   under a $27 million proposal being considered by the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency. 

Hardscrabble Apartments, at 400 Main St., would be sold for $20 million to for-profit developer K&R Preservation by the nonprofit Farmingdale Housing Development Fund Company Inc., according to representatives for the current and would-be owners. 

However, the ownership change wouldn’t alter the complex’s status as Section 8 housing for low-income seniors, according to Alex Betke, an Albany-based consultant to K&R.

“We can ensure that this [facility] remains affordable, and it will stay senior,” he said at last month's IDA meeting.

Betke said each of the 80 units at Hardscrabble would undergo renovations over two years, costing between $40,000 and $50,000 per unit. The work, valued at about $4 million, would begin next year.

K&R wants the IDA to grant a sales-tax exemption of up to $115,127 on the purchase of construction materials, supplies and furnishings for the apartment rehabs, plus up to $155,800 off the mortgage-recording tax.

The developer also has asked for 30 years of property tax breaks. If they are granted, the public school district and other taxing jurisdictions would still receive more tax revenue than they are now because the property has been tax-exempt.

The IDA board voted unanimously to begin negotiations with K&R for a tax-incentive package.  

K&R, founded by Brian Raddock and the late Francine Kellman in 2017, specializes in rehabilitating public housing projects while keeping rents affordable. The company has made improvements to nearly 5,000 apartments in New York City, Albany, Kingston, Mount Vernon, Spring Valley and in New Jersey.

Raddock and Kellman started K&R after working with three other developers at Preservation Development Partners to restore and stabilize public housing, primarily in the metropolitan area.

Raddock, K&R’s CEO, said at the IDA meeting that his company “always tries to hire local [unionized construction workers] if the trades that we’re looking for are available.”

Apartments built by five religious groups

The Farmingdale apartment complex was the brainchild of four area churches and a synagogue in the early 1980s to provide housing for low-income people who are age 62 and older, said Stephen Kressel, longtime president and treasurer of the housing development fund.

Hardscrabble is located across the street from one development fund member, Farmingdale United Methodist Church, and around the corner from another, St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church. The other members are St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, St. Thomas Episcopal Church and Congregation Tikvah.

“We provide independent living for seniors, and there’s a social services coordinator on staff to assist residents,” said Kressel, a member of Congregation Tikvah.

“But the place needs a redo, and we don’t have the money to do it,” he said in an interview this week.

Kressel added that the 15-member board of the development fund voted unanimously to sell Hardscrabble to K&R under the condition that the complex continue to accept Section 8 vouchers and charge affordable rents.

He said the board began exploring sale options for its only property about a decade ago.

“It’s a marvelous place, but it’s time for a handoff,” said Kressel, an attorney. He added that the five religious institutions will use the $20 million in sale proceeds for “charitable purposes.”

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.