Finding an affordable place to live continues to be a challenge for many as widespread housing shortages persist across the U.S. Rising home prices and high interest rates have made homeownership inaccessible for a large portion of the population. Meanwhile, as rental demand increases, the number of renters facing affordability challenges is also growing.

New York State awarded $1 billion in housing bonds and subsidies in the latest push from Gov. Kathy Hochul as part of her broader $25 billion five-year housing plan.

The funds were awarded by New York State Homes and Community Renewal to 12 housing development projects that aim to create or preserve 2,754 apartments across the state.

Seven of those projects are in New York City, including the preservation and rehabilitation of two existing structures in Harlem and on the Upper West Side, the adaptive reuse of a former correctional facility in Chelsea and new construction across four different sites in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn.

The New York City projects claim a total of $652 million in combined bonds and subsidies from the overall $1 billion.

More than $193 million will go into demolishing four former hospital buildings to make way for a new 14-story building at Vital Brooklyn’s Kingsbrook Estates. The complex, located on a portion of the Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center site in East Flatbush,  is slated to deliver 402 affordable apartments allocated to residents earning 70 percent of area median income or below. Supportive services for older tenants and veterans will be offered across 142 apartments in the new build, slated for development by Monadnock Development and CB Emmanuel Realty.

Vital Brooklyn, an initiative launched in 2017 aimed at creating a new model for community development across Central Brooklyn, has already identified at least 9 sites, selected development partners and started construction on five projects. The state has already allocated $578 million toward the goal of building 4,000 affordable housing units through the initiative.

“Today’s announcement marks another significant step forward in fulfilling the promise of the Vital Brooklyn initiative and building on the momentum of recent investments in our community,” Assembly member Monique Chandler-Waterman said in a statement. “Together, we are transforming underutilized spaces into thriving community assets and creating stronger, healthier, and more resilient neighborhoods for generations to come.”

Another project comprising part of that initiative, Vital Brooklyn Alafia Phase 3, involves two new six-story buildings with 273 affordable apartments for residents at or below 70 percent AMI and will be built by Apex Real Estate Development and L+M Development Partners. HCR will invest $124 million in the project on the former Brooklyn Developmental Center campus in East New York, adding to the $387 million Alafia Phase 1 project completed in December with 576 affordable units and Alafia Phase 2, which received $326 million in state bonds and subsidies last year.

The largest Manhattan investment, $63.9 million for the Chelsea Beacon project, broke ground last week, with Gov. Hochul announcing that the project would create up to 131 permanently affordable homes for residents earning at or below 80 percent AMI, including at least 79 supportive housing units on the site of the former Bayview Correctional Facility.

In addition to funding from New York State Homes and Community Renewal, Empire State Development chipped in $20 million from its NY RUSH program for redeveloping the underutilized Chelsea Beacon site and the state Office of Mental Health added nearly $14 million in capital funding. Bayview Reentry Owner LLC, a joint venture between Camber Property Group and The Osborne Association, will develop the site.

Additional Manhattan preservation and rehabilitation projects receiving state bonds and subsidies include the Narragensett on the Upper West Side, developed by Housing and Services Inc., and Columba Kavanagh in East Harlem, to be developed by Sisters of Charity Housing Development Corporation.

The St. Joseph Apartments in the Bronx will receive more than $147 million in HCR funding to build a new eight-story building with 251 affordable units for residents at or below 70 percent AMI, with 125 apartments offering supportive services, to be developed by Catholic Homes New York and affiliate New York Institute for Human Development.

“These investments represent another major step forward in our mission to expand housing opportunities in every corner of the state and make New York more affordable,” Hochul said in a statement.

Construction is underway on Chelsea Beacon, a residential conversion and expansion of the former Bayview Correctional Facility at 550 West 20th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan. Designed by COOKFOX and developed by Camber Property Group and the Osborne Association, the project will involve the construction of an addition within the existing structure’s inner courtyard that will extend seven stories above the current roofline. The $167 million development will yield 131 permanently affordable apartments, including at least 79 supportive housing units, as well as a 15-bed short-term transitional residence program and community facility space.

The property is located at the southeast corner of West 20th Street and Eleventh Avenue, directly across from Chelsea Piers.

The renderings show the new levels rising above the southern edge of the existing Art Deco brick structure. The addition will feature a light beige brick façade surrounding floor-to-ceiling windows with black frames, and will culminate in a tall bulkhead with curved corners, matching the geometry of the levels below. The former roof will be topped with an expansive terrace featuring an urban garden.

Originally built in the early 1930s as the Seamen’s House YMCA, the building later operated as the Bayview Correctional Facility before closing in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The redevelopment will preserve architectural features, including the building’s chapel, while incorporating all-electric building systems and other sustainability and resiliency upgrades.

Apartments at Chelsea Beacon will be affordable to households earning up to 80 percent of the area median income (AMI). The project’s approximately 8,500 square feet of community facility space will serve youth recreational and educational programming. The 15-bed transitional residence will provide intensive mental health support over a 120-day period for individuals preparing to move into more independent housing. Financing includes federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, tax-exempt bonds, and capital support from New York State Homes and Community Renewal, Empire State Development, and the New York State Office of Mental Health.

The closest subways from the property are the C and E trains at the 23rd Street station along Eighth Avenue.