Celebrating the Start of Construction at 1760 Third Avenue

Breaking Ground Board Member Louise Carroll welcomed guests, noting that projects like 1760 require “creativity and persistence” before introducing President and CEO of Breaking Ground, Brenda Rosen.

Brenda noted that this project means “stability, dignity, and security” for hundreds more New Yorkers who will no longer sleep on the streets or in shelter and thanked our many partners who enabled the project with vital financing.

We then heard from our State, City, and private sector financing partners:

RuthAnne Visnauskas, Commissioner & CEO of New York State Homes & Community Renewal spoke about Governor Hochul’s commitment to expanding affordable and supportive housing across the State, including significant investments in New York City, and how breathing new life into old buildings can help make impact fast.

Adolfo Carrión, Jr., Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, noted the importance of doing big, difficult, important things – of coming together to make a difference – in unprecedented times and in the midst of deep instability.

Ann Marie Sullivan, MD, Commissioner of New York State Office of Mental Health celebrated that 1760 Third Avenue is the first project to receive capital funding as part of the Governor’s commitment to create 3,500 new units of mental health housing.

Michael Washburn, Assistant Director of New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance noted the agency’s long history of working with Breaking Ground, this being our eighteenth collaborative effort to create housing for people exiting homelessness.

Diana Ayala, Deputy Speaker of the New York City Council expressed her excitement that this day had finally arrived and that we are moving forward to bring this project to East Harlem. She spoke movingly of her late brother, who suffered from mental illness, and how critical it is to create housing and programs that can help people thrive in the face the most difficult circumstances, including young adults who are aging out of the foster care system.

Jason Rosenberg, Head of Public Affairs for Wells Fargo explored the importance of bringing the full force of Wells Fargo to projects like 1760 Third Avenue – from the financing of the Community Lending Division, the philanthropy of the Wells Fargo Foundation, and volunteerism that defines the Bank of Doing campaign to help transform and build a thriving community.

Watch the full program here.

Project Details and Renderings

Situated on Third Avenue between 97th and 98th Streets, 1760 Third Avenue was originally developed in 1974 as a nursing home known as the Florence Nightingale Health Center. In 2007 it was converted to student housing serving as a dormitory primarily for students of Hunter and Baruch Colleges. Breaking Ground entered discussions with the ownership group to acquire the building in 2022 and finally secured financing and completed the acquisition in June of 2024.

Breaking Ground then closed on construction financing at the end of 2024 and the “wallbreaking” event celebrated the start of construction, which is expected to take 18 to 24 months. The primary construction work will: add kitchenettes to all of the units; create a new suite of offices on the ground floor and cellar levels that will house onsite property management and social services teams, common amenities including a fitness room and computer lab, and a fully outfitted medical suite; refresh exterior courtyard and plaza areas along Third Avenue and activate new areas for use by the public.

Financing for the acquisition of the project was provided by New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance’s Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (OTDA/HHAP), the Low-Income Investment Fund, The New York City Acquisition Fund, and Resolution A funds from the New York City Council.

Construction financing is provided by New York State Homes and Community Renewal, the New York State Office of Mental Health, and OTDA/HHAP. Wells Fargo provided the construction letter of credit.

In addition to public and private financing, Breaking Ground received philanthropic support for 1760 Third Avenue from the Wells Fargo Foundation and Ilse Melamid. The Wells Fargo Foundation’s grant will assist in outfitting the building’s computer lab, medical suite, and fitness room to ensure that tenants have access to holistic health and digital literacy services. A major gift from Ilse Melamid will ensure that Breaking Ground can establish apartments and specialized services for 40 young adults who are aging out of foster care or who have experienced homelessness.

The project team includes Dattner Architects and Archstone Builders LLC.

All renderings above are courtesy our partners at Dattner Architects.