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The sales agreement for Mamaroneck Towers is with Wilder Balter Partners, Inc. which plans to upgrade the kitchens, bathrooms and common areas in each apartment in the building, which is more than 20 years old. It doesn't plan to increase tenants’ rent.
Work on each apartment is estimated to begin as early as late 2014 and take three-to-four days each.
“It was a very unique opportunity to be able to really do both at once: create a revenue stream for Washingtonville for a next project, while improving the current housing stock for the current tenants,” Nightingale said.
Washingtonville has also started transitioning its office into more of a community center since partnering with Westhab, a countywide organization based in Yonkers that also provides affordable housing. It owns about 1,000 units, mostly in Yonkers and Mount Vernon, with some in New Rochelle, White Plains, Greenburgh and the Bronx.
“We would like to expand services far beyond just our own tenants,” Nightingale said of the Washingtonville office. “We would like all low- and moderate-income residents of that community to feel welcome to come in and say, ‘I need help finding a job; I need help finding an after school resource for my child.’”
Through Westhab, Washingtonville now has a health educator from the Rye YMCA at its Mamaroneck office who can offer job coaching and referrals and resume writing programs. Nightingale said they plan to roll out many more programs like that to serve the community.
“We’re beginning to see more walk-ins, more folks that aren’t our tenants coming in to say, ‘Hey, I heard I could get connected to services here.’”
Washingtonville Housing Alliance is on 136 Library Lane.
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