Christopher Community, Centers at St. Camillus begin construction on $12.6 million Harborbrook Apartments in Geddes

GEDDES, N.Y. — Christopher Community Inc. and the Centers at St. Camillus are co-developing the Harborbrook Apartments, a new $12.6 million project adjacent to the Centers at 811 Fay Road in Geddes.

When completed, the project will provide 60 apartments for people aged 55 and older.

Christopher Community, headquartered at 990 James St. in Syracuse, describes itself as a “nonprofit development and management company specializing in housing for senior, families, and the disabled in upstate New York.”

The Centers at St. Camillus is a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility.

 About the project

Harborbrook Apartments is designed to “promote an aging-in-place model providing accessible, affordable housing” to help individuals remain independent at home, rather than residing in nursing homes or hospitals, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release issued Tuesday.

The new complex will provide “affordable” housing for seniors aged 55 and older whose incomes are below 70 percent of the area median income.

It’s been in the planning for about two years, says Douglas Reicher, president of Christopher Community.

“Then the application was assembled. That took about a year to get all the various approvals, whether it’s zoning and environmental issues … all of that assembled to the point where we could do an application … very complex financing,” says Reicher.

Reicher spoke to BJNN following a groundbreaking ceremony held Tuesday at the construction site.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal and KeyBank N.A. (NYSE: KEY) are funding the project, according to the Christopher Community.

The development team consists of Christopher Community, Inc.; Rich & Gardner Construction Company; and Holmes King Kallquist & Associates, Architects LLP.

The project is owned by Harborbrook Apartments, L.P., in which Harborbrook Apartments Management, Inc. is the general partner, Cuomo’s office said.

Christopher Community, Inc. is the sole shareholder of the general partner.

Funding for the $12.6 million project includes: $2.8 million from HCR’s supportive-housing opportunity program and $912,048 from HCR’s middle-income housing program; $670,000 in federal low-income housing tax credits, which leverages more than $6.9 million in low-income housing tax credit equity; $300,000 in New York State low-income housing tax credits, which leverages over $1.9 million in state low-income housing tax credit equity; and $56,000 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

KeyBank N.A is providing construction financing with a more than $7.3 million loan and Key Community Development Corp. is syndicating tax credits with $4.25 million in equity and deferred-development fees and reserves of $983,094.

Construction is expected to be complete by July 2018.

New York State involvement

The Centers campus in 2016 received one of the first awards to pay for “comprehensive” support services for 20 senior residents or residents as risk of homelessness.

The funding was part of Cuomo’s Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative.

This development complements Central New York Rising, the region’s winning plan in Cuomo’s 2015 economic-development contest called the Upstate Revitalization Initiative.

“This new development will enable more New York seniors to maintain their independence, live with dignity and help ensure Central New York continues to rise,” Cuomo contended in the news release. “Harborbrook Apartments provides needed resources and support services for our seniors, creating stronger communities, a more robust local economy, and more opportunities to thrive.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com