The groundbreaking of two affordable housing developments, Park Terrace at Croton Heights and Grant Park at Croton Heights, located at the former site of the historic Mulford Gardens Public Housing Complex and Ashburton Avenue in Yonkers recently took place at a ceremony celebrated by the city.

The $19.1 million Park Terrace which will be a 55,644-sq-ft senior rental facility will feature 49 one-bedroom apartments that will be available to seniors earning an income no higher than 50% of the area median income. Park Terrace is expected to achieve a LEED Silver status by implementing green building practices such as targeting 75% of construction waste diverted from landfills and by using green materials such as low-flow showerheads, high efficiency furnaces, a condensing boiler, Energy Star appliances and windows as well as local brick, low volatile organic compound paints, coatings, trims, sealants and local foundation aggregate. Park Terrace is scheduled to be completed by spring 2011.

The $45.5 million residential apartment community, Grant Park is the first section of a planned 240-unit community on the site and will feature 100 one, two, and three-bedroom, multi-family units in four buildings totaling 129,065 sq ft for residents earning no more than 60% of the area median income. Construction is expected to be completed by spring 2011.

The Yonkers Industrial Development Agency approved incentives for the developer including a real property tax agreement, mortgage tax exemptions, and sales and uses tax exemptions in order to help keep the apartments affordable. Income requirements at Grant Park will be adjusted based on family size.

Park Terrace and Grant Park were both developed by The Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers and The Richman Group Development Corporation, a housing organization based in Greenwich, Connecticut and are part of Yonkers Mayor Philip A. Amicone’s $180 million Ashburton Urban Renewal Plan which was designed to renovate one of the oldest sections in Yonkers. The groundbreakings are also part of Urban Development’s HOPE VI Program to replace damaged, low-income public housing with renovated mixed-income housing. New York-based Monadnock Construction is serving as construction manager on the project and H2M, also of New York is serving as the architect.