The City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) have selected The Arker Companies, The Domain Companies and Neighborhood Housing Services of Staten Island (NHS) to undertake a $60 million redevelopment of the Markham Gardens public housing development located in the West Brighton neighborhood on Staten Island’s north shore.

Markham Gardens is the third NYCHA site to be redeveloped through a collaboration between HPD, NYCHA and HDC that will lead to 5,000 affordable housing units.

The Markham Gardens redevelopment will create a mixed-income community of rental apartments and for-sale homes. The design will be environmentally sustainable, using energy-efficient and green building design. It will include 240 mixed-income rental units of which 150 will be reserved for Section 8 voucher recipients referred by NYCHA, including former Markham Garden tenants who wish to return. The remaining 90 units will be affordable to residents with incomes between $42,350 to $85,080 for a family of four.

The redevelopment also includes 25 two-family homes for moderate-income families as well as a park, outdoor seating areas with extensive landscaping, and a 6,000 sf recreational center consisting of an indoor basketball court, exercise facility, computer center and classrooms.

The complex was built in 1943, during World War II, as temporary housing for workers who were employed under defense contracts at nearby shipyards. Following the war, Markham Gardens became a NYCHA development that served low-income families. The existing structures, which are undersized by current standards and have aged and deteriorated beyond reasonable repair, will be demolished.

Former Markham Garden residents have relocated to other NYCHA properties or received Section 8 vouchers at their request. Those former Markham residents who lived in the complex on April 1, 2004 will be invited to return to the redeveloped site. Demolition is expected to begin this winter, with completion projected by the end of 2008.

The $60 million financial plan for Markham Gardens includes $27 million in tax-exempt bonds from HDC, $18.4 million in as-of-right 4% low-income housing tax credits from HPD, and $14.25 million from the sale of 421a negotiable certificates for the rental apartments. A conventional construction loan will finance the homeownership units along with subsidies from the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) and the New York Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

“We work closely with HPD all the time, and we are glad to be working more closely with the Housing Authority under the Bloomberg Administration, issuing $21.5 million to finance the gut rehabilitation and new construction at the University Macombs and Brook Willis sites, and also issuing $300 million in financing for preservation of 156 NYCHA buildings throughout the City,” said Emily A. Youssouf, the president of HDC.

The design for the Markham Gardens redevelopment was prepared by DHK Architects, an architectural firm expert in the field of affordable housing. The new community’s design reflects the history and long-standing low-rise neighborhood ambience of the complex, while incorporating new technologies and design elements to meet the needs of the next generation. Buildings will feature “house-like” aesthetics, including front and rear yards and duplex units. The Markham Gardens Request for Proposals, announced by Mayor Bloomberg in August 2005 gave priority to development plans that incorporated environmentally-friendly design.

Previous residents were instrumental in the creation of the concept for the recreation center, in which a former boiler plant will be converted into a modern, bi-level facility that will include the “Markham Gallery,” a lounge featuring photographs and other memorabilia commemorating the property’s history. The center will be named by Markham Gardens residents.