Luxury condo developer Related Companies — a familiar name thanks to projects like Manhattan’s Hudson Yards and a Citi Bike bike-share investment — is adding more affordable housing to its portfolio. The Wall Street Journal reports that Related agreed to purchase over 3,000 affordable apartments for approximately $270 million.
In addition to keeping the units affordable, the developer will invest $262 million in renovations. Half of the units are in Chicago while the rest are located throughout other cities.
“I’m pleased that Related has made this commitment to Chicago and that our working families will continue to be able afford to live here,“ Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. He said the deal will ”bring us closer to our goal to create, improve and preserve more than 41,000 units of housing in the city by 2018.”
Related currently owns over 45,000 affordable housing units in what it calls a “stable underpinning” to grander investments such as the $20 billion Hudson Yards. More affordable housing also means bigger tax breaks.
Included in the new units is the Section 8 Marshall Field Garden Apartments, located in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. The building’s current affordable housing designation expires in 2017, but Related said it will keep the complex affordable for 30 more years. According to the Journal:
Related plans to invest $70 million in renovating the 6-acre complex, including the construction of a new fitness center and laundry rooms, and the addition of after-school programming.
The renovations may mean that the rents for the buildings are higher, as appraised by HUD, which will increase the amount the company receives from the federal government for subsidized renters. Currently, average total rents in the complex are $1,435 a month. By undertaking renovations, Related also receives a development fee from the federal government and is able to issue tax credits.
Marielle Mondon is an editor and freelance journalist in Philadelphia. Her work has appeared in Philadelphia City Paper, Wild Magazine, and PolicyMic. She previously reported on communities in Northern Manhattan while earning an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University.
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