Catholic Charities Progress of Peoples Development Corporation Opens $143.4 Million Senior Housing in Brooklyn's Brownsville

Catholic Charities Progress of Peoples Development Corporation (CCPOPD) and public-sector partners held a ribbon-cutting on Oct. 8, 2026, for the Catholic Charities Gail P. Duke Senior Residence, a $143.4 million affordable housing development at 350 Livonia Avenue in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn. The building provides 141 affordable apartments for low-income seniors with supportive services. Financing included tax-exempt bonds and a second mortgage from the NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC), with tax credits syndicated by Richman Housing Resources.

Project Details: 350 Livonia Avenue, Brownsville

The Gail P. Duke Senior Residence is a newly constructed mixed-use building located on Livonia Avenue between Mother Gaston Boulevard and Christopher Avenue. The building is approximately 12 to 13 stories. Construction began in 2024, and the building opened in 2026.

The ground floor includes a 10,000-square-foot older adult center. On-site supportive services are provided by Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services, the social services arm of Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens. The Gail P. Duke Older Adult Center offers daily hot meals prepared on-site, educational events, fitness classes and senior case management services.

Housing lottery materials for the building describe income eligibility ranging from $0 to $72,900 depending on household and apartment size, with rents generally structured at about 30% of household income. The apartments offered through the lottery included studios and one-bedrooms. Some housing lottery and trade listings describe the building as containing 142 apartments; the official figure announced by HDC is 141 affordable homes.

At $143.4 million across 141 units, the development cost works out to approximately $1.02 million per residential unit. That figure reflects total development cost, which includes the community space, supportive services infrastructure and resilience features, and is not a sale price or appraised value.

Site Assembly and Development History

In 2018, CCPOPD was awarded a City-owned site assemblage along Livonia Avenue through the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Brownsville request for proposals. As the sole developer for Site C3, CCPOPD developed nine adjacent vacant lots. In May 2022, the organization acquired one adjacent out-parcel, Lot 25, to improve the overall site design and the financial feasibility of the project.

CCPOPD is the affordable housing arm of the Diocese of Brooklyn. Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens currently provides more than 4,000 units of affordable housing with support services for seniors, families, veterans and the formerly homeless. Very Reverend Patrick J. Keating, Esq., President and CEO of Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, said the Gail P. Duke Senior Residence is the organization's 35th affordable housing development in Brooklyn and Queens.

Financing: NYC Housing Development Corporation Bonds and Richman Housing Resources Tax Credits

CCPOPD secured project financing in April 2024 using public and private sources. Construction financing for the building includes 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits supported by $84,715,000 in NYC Housing Development Corporation tax-exempt bonds and syndicated by Richman Housing Resources. Other sources include:

• A $7,820,000 HDC second mortgage
• $10,016,215 in HOME funds from HPD's Senior Affordable Rental Apartments (SARA) Program
• $4,500,000 in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds
• $1,000,000 in NYC City Capital sponsored by Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso
• A $1,000,000 grant from the New York State Research and Development Authority's Buildings of Excellence Competition

Federal support includes 141 project-based vouchers from the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), which the announcement said guarantees long-term affordability for residents. Todd Gomez, Community Developing Banking Region Executive for Bank of America New York City, said Bank of America Community Development Banking provided $153 million to help finance construction.

The itemized sources listed above total roughly $109.1 million, excluding tax credit equity proceeds and any other sources not itemized in the announcement.

Kevin Hoffman, President of Richman Housing Resources LLC, said: "Richman is honored to have played a role in bringing the Gail P. Duke Senior Residence to fruition. This project demonstrates the power of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to create beautiful, high-quality, affordable homes for the seniors who need them most." HDC President Eric Enderlin said the building "exemplifies the City's ongoing commitment to ensuring that older New Yorkers have the resources that they need to age with dignity in their communities."

Sustainability and Resiliency Features

The building uses all-electric heating, cooling and hot water systems and follows Passive House (PHIUS) sustainable design standards. It also meets standards under the ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction Program, the EPA's Indoor airPLUS and Enterprise Green Communities. The project used CDBG-DR funds to add resiliency measures, including back-up generator power for cooling, sheltering in place and other emergency needs.

HPD Commissioner Dina Levy said the older adult center will double as a Community Resiliency Hub, providing a place for seniors and neighbors during energy disruptions, flood-related events or extreme heat.

Brownsville Plan and Neighborhood Context

City officials tied the project to the community-based Brownsville Plan. Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning, credited Brownsville residents who originally shaped the Brownsville Neighborhood Plan. Sideya Sherman, Director of the New York City Department of City Planning, said the development is rooted in that plan.

The building is one of several affordable senior projects in Brownsville. A separate senior project at 381-401 Chester Street, known as Simba Simbi Seniors, was marketed with 108 apartments. The Gail P. Duke building's lottery offered 47 apartments to eligible senior households. The project is also part of a broader Livonia Avenue development effort expected to produce more than 420 apartments across multiple sites.

The property is named for Gail P. Duke, a Brooklynite, community advocate and longtime member of the CCPOPD Board of Trustees who spent her professional career at NYL Investors. Duke attended the ribbon-cutting. Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said the agency is pursuing targeted code reform aimed at lowering construction costs and reducing development timelines under the Mayor's Block by Block Housing Plan.

Market Implications

The financing structure shows the layered capital stack used for deeply affordable senior housing in New York City, combining tax-exempt bonds, 4% LIHTCs, city and federal subsidies, grants and project-based vouchers. The use of City-owned land and nonprofit sponsorship is part of the model used to deliver the building.

Sources

NYC Housing Development Corporation: Public and Private Partners Cut the Ribbon on Newly Built Affordable Housing in Brownsville, Brooklyn