PMG Affordable, a new division of real estate developer PMG, has closed on its first land acquisition in New York City.
The firm, in partnership with Brisa Builders, has acquired a site in Far Rockaway, Queens, for a $35 million supportive housing project that will be developed by Brisa Cornaga Associates, a joint venture between PMG Affordable and Brisa. Construction is expected to start in late 2021.
As the first project under PMG Affordable, the nine-story, mixed-use building will include 92 dwelling units, of which 60 will be supportive housing units and 32 will be mandatory inclusionary housing units. The property will make use of Passive House design strategies for energy efficiency.
Plans call for the 62,500-square-foot development to be in the Downtown Far Rockaway Special Purpose District, an area created as part of a comprehensive plan to strengthen the community by encouraging vibrant and diverse use of vacant and underutilized sites near mass transit and primary corridors.
“We aim to make a positive impact on the community through attainably priced rental housing that improves quality of life for individuals and families,” says Dan Coakley, principal of PMG Affordable. “It’s been gratifying to work alongside our partners Ericka Keller and Hammad Graham of Brisa and their strong local network to make a meaningful contribution toward improving the current affordable housing crisis in our home city. They have been great partners.”
PMG is known for its luxury residential properties, including 111 West 57th Street, one of the tallest residential towers in Manhattan, and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences in Miami. Overall, the firm has led the acquisition, financing, development, construction, and marketing for more than 85 residential buildings and over 150 real estate projects throughout the United States.
The move into affordable housing serves as a “diversifying business for the overall company,” Coakley says. “It’s a nice complement to the businesses that PMG has on the market side.”
Coakley says the mission of affordable housing is also important to him and the PMG team. “It’s a business that requires a significant long-term commitment,” he says. “It may not be the high risk, high return that the condo business has, but we like being committed to this for the long term and building something that is meaningful.”
On the development side, PMG Affordable will continue to look for sites in New York as well as the Southeast, with a focus on Florida and Texas. It also plans to pursue existing affordable housing properties for acquisition-rehab opportunities.
“We’re tending to mimic and go after markets where we have as a company either developed assets on the market side, have resources in place, or expertise in certain markets,” he says. “I think our focus geographically might be a little broader for the acquisition of existing assets, and we’ll sort of go where the deals are and try to build platforms around that.”
The goal over the next several years is to create a national brand and platform that follows PMG on the market side.
Coakley joined PMG to start the affordable division last year. He had partnered with and provided capital for the firm previously and was familiar with the organization.
“We had been in the trenches together, and that’s when you can see how people behave,” he says. “What I saw from [managing partner] Kevin Maloney and the team was that they shared my values and that I would want to partner with them long term. When the opportunity came along, it was too good to be true.”
Coakley’s father grew up in public housing in Boston. “He often talked about how they didn’t have stability and without public housing apartments they would not have been able to get through the way they did,” he says. “That’s always been on the front of my mind as part of the mission and that everyone in the country deserves quality affordable housing.”
