Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC) has created a new model to finance the development and operation of housing for very low-income individuals without the need for public rental subsidies by leveraging surplus rental income from a shelter to cross-subsidize the permanent housing.
As a nonprofit and a shelter provider, BRC has utilized this new model to develop The Apartments at Landing Road, 135 units of permanent housing, and Reaching New Heights Residence, a 200-bed employment shelter for homeless single men, under one roof in the Bronx, N.Y.
“We are using that cross-subsidy to lower the operating costs for the affordable housing,” says Nicole Clare, senior vice president for housing development at BRC. “It’s capturing a funding source that already exists and using it efficiently to achieve our housing goals. Government dollars are already being spent; we’re just trying to spend them in a smarter way and breaking down silos to do it.”
The $65.8 million development, completed in January 2018, brings a host of social services for both residents and homeless clients. BRC’s Horizons Workforce Development Program provides on-site staff who work with residents and clients on job skills, resume writing, and applying for jobs.
As of the end of March, the shelter has served almost 600 men, with close to 70 moving on to permanent housing, nearly 70% participating in the workforce programs, and 40% employed. On the permanent housing side, 84% of the residents are employed, with almost half participating in the workforce program.
“It’s important for us to be outcome focused,” says Clare. “We are not just in the business of giving people a bed. We really want clients and residents to achieve their own potential.”
