The city has selected minority-owned businesses to take the lead on a new affordable housing project in Prospect Heights.

 

The Bergen Project will be built at 516 Dean St. Currently, in its place is a former satellite office that belongs to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

 

"This site is an unused former field office from our agency that will now become 116 affordable homes," said Michael Sandler, the associate commissioner of neighborhood strategies for HPD.

 

The project is part of the Adam's administration's “24 in 24” plan. An initiative that aspires to develop affordable housing on public land that is otherwise going to waste.

 

"This year we're going to advance 24 sites across the city in partnership with our partners at NYCHA and EDC," Sandler said.

 

The project will take the place of the run-down building and the parking lot next door.

 

"It's in the heart of Brooklyn. Just steps from Atlantic Terminal, steps from Barclays Center. It will be a mix of studios, ones, twos, and three bedroom apartments," Sandler said.

 

Along with providing affordable housing, HPD says their other priority was to have local minority-owned businesses execute the vision. As a result, Bridge Street Development Corporation and Apex Building Group were selected to develop it. For them, it's personal.

 

"I went to Brooklyn tech high school around the corner from here, I was born in Brooklyn hospital, so this project has a lot of meaning to me because its in the neighborhood I grew up in," said Lee Brathwaite, the CEO of Apex Building Group.

 

A similar project boasting 154 affordable units is also in the works for Dean Street around the block. HPD says they hope to break ground on both projects within the next couple of years.