New $48M Affordable Housing Building Opens In Westchester: Features Ultra-Low Energy Design

Federal, county, and city officials celebrated the grand opening of a new four-story affordable housing building in Westchester that boasts energy-saving features.

City, state, and federal officials, along with the Mulford Corporation, celebrate the opening of La Mora Senior Housing in Yonkers.
Photo Credit: *Mulford Corporation*

Ben Crnic

07/13/2024 1:30 p.m.

The $48 million building, known as La Mora Senior Housing, celebrated its grand opening on Tuesday, July 9 at 23 Mulberry St. in the Hollow neighborhood of South Yonkers.

The project features 60 affordable apartments for seniors and was built by the nonprofit Mulford Corporation.

In addition to giving seniors access to affordable units, the building was also built using Passive House design, a standard for energy efficiency that results in structures that need little energy for space heating or cooling.

The design standard is estimated to achieve 40 to 60 percent energy savings over a normal building design, according to the Mulford Corporation.

The four-story building, designed by the Perkins Eastman architectural firm, includes apartments with low-flow plumbing features; Energy Star appliances; LED lighting; individual high-efficiency electric heat and cooling; dual-pane insulated windows; and a central hot water heating and distribution system.

In addition to these energy-efficient features, the building also includes a community room with a kitchen, two business rooms, a fitness center, a landscaped courtyard, and a rooftop deck.

The project was financed by:

$17 million in permanent tax-exempt bonds;
Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits that will generate $17.7 million in equity;
A $9.1 million subsidy from New York State Homes and Community Renewal;
$240,000 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority;
$3.4 million from the Westchester County Housing Implementation Fund;
$1.615 million from the City of Yonkers HOME funds;
A $2.6 million loan from the Mulford Corporation.

"The grand opening of this beautiful new senior housing development is yet another example of how the City of Yonkers and the Mulford Corporation are working together to revitalize our neighborhoods with affordable, quality-built housing," said Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano during the grand opening celebration, which was also attended by officials from New York State, Westchester County, and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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