Regional Administrator Holly Leicht Welcomes Home Residents to Historic Randolph Houses

Regional Administrator Leicht Welcomes Home NYCHA Residents to Randolph Houses in Harlem.

Regional Administrator Holly Leicht joins officials from the New York City Housing Authority, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the New York City Housing Development Corporation, Enterprise Community Partners, West Harlem Assistance Group, and elected representatives Rep Charles B. Rangel, Councilwoman Inez Dickens, and State Senator Keith Wright to cut the ribbon at NYCHA's Randolph Houses in Central Harlem.

For residents of Randolph Houses, a public housing development in the middle of Harlem, the road home was long and winding. For years the southern side of the stately but decrepit 1890s row houses sat vacant, the victim of an ambitious renovation vision stymied by the a slew of challenges, not least of which was the historic value of the buildings themselves. But through committed leadership at all levels of government, the beautiful homes are once again a vibrant block in a thriving community, with more to come soon and some additional history made along the way.

The project at Randolph Houses represents the first development in New York City where tax-credit financed affordable units sit side-by-side with public housing units developed with federal capital funding. Through HUD's Mixed-Finance program, the New York City Housing Authority was able to contribute over $40 million to leverage tax-credit equity and construction financing bonds to restore these beautiful homes to their former glory.

In addition to the unit renovations, the project also created approximately 3,000 square feet of community space including a library, computer rooms, additional community spaces, laundry rooms in the buildings, and landscaped outdoor space for tenant use. All buildings have elevators and are wheelchair accessible. In addition to these amenities, the renovations have incorporated green building practices and meet the requirements of the Enterprise Green Communities criteria.

In her remarks at the ribbon-cutting, Regional Administrator Holly Leicht spoke of the leadership provided by NYCHA Chair Shola Olatoye, and of the importance of resident trust in tackling complex and ambitious projects. Maintaining those assets will result in similar success for a second phase of the project, during which NYCHA will redevelop the 14 tenement buildings on the north side of the street, which were previously occupied by NYCHA tenants.

Mixed-finance developments like the one at Randolph Houses will be increasingly common and important to the success of NextGenNYCHA (www1.nyc.gov/site/nycha/about/nextgen-nycha.page), a turnaround plan designed to meet the major operating and capital needs of the largest public housing authority nationwide. HUD's Rental Assistance Demonstration will be integral to NextGenNYCHA's success.

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