Two Trees receives 87,000 affordable housing lottery applications for 325 Kent at Domino Sugar site

February 15, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

This is Two Trees Management's new apartment building, 325 Kent Ave., which has drawn 87,000 applications from prospective tenants for its affordable units. Eagle file photo by Lore Croghan

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Following a series of multilingual application workshops, Two Trees Management announced Wednesday that it received more than 87,000 applications for the 325 Kent Ave. affordable housing lottery. 325 Kent is the first rental building at Two Trees’ 11-acre Domino Sugar redevelopment project currently under construction along the Williamsburg waterfront. Designed by SHoP Architects, the 16-story building will include 500 market-rate and affordable apartments.

The entire Domino development will encompass a total of approximately 2,300 apartments, including more than 700 affordable units, 500,000 square feet of office space and a new six-acre waterfront park. It was the first large-scale, mixed-use project to be rezoned under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration.

Fifty percent of the affordable units will be reserved for residents of Community Board 1, with other set-asides including mobility disabled applicants (5 percent), vision- or hearing-disabled applicants (2 percent) and municipal employees (5 percent). The apartments will be made available for individuals and families earning between $21,772 and $45,300 annually. Affordable apartments’ rents range from $596 per month for a studio to $979 per month for a two-bedroom. A lottery will be conducted in coordination with HPD and HFA and the first residents are expected to move into the units in June.

In organizing and promoting the lottery aimed at low income residents, earning up to 50 percent of area median income, Two Trees worked in close partnership with community organizations including Churches United for Fair Housing (CUFFH) and Southside United HDFC-Los Sures.

“It was important to us to drive robust community participation,” Ramon Peguero, executive director of Southside United HDFC-Los Sures, added. “The success in generating so many applications demonstrates the demand among New Yorkers for the type of housing Two Trees is bringing to this community, and the fact that this lottery targeted residents most in need of better housing opportunities.”

CUFFH Executive Director Rob Solano said that Two Trees’ commitment at Domino to providing first-rate housing opportunities to New Yorkers from all walks of life reflects a community-centric approach to development that is necessary for New York’s future.

“We at CUFFH are dedicated to the idea that development should happen as part of a framework, including the consideration of broader community needs, such as better housing that is both accessible and meets the target income needs of the community,” Solano said. “Two Trees shares our vision and has been a strong working partner at every step leading up to this point. We look forward to more shared successes as the entire Domino project takes shape.”

“It’s no secret that there’s a housing crisis in our city and the first group of affordable apartments that have long been envisioned at the Domino site are finally here,” said Two Trees’ Managing Director David Lombino. “The outreach that our community-based partners undertook was critical in ensuring widespread awareness of this opportunity and in generating a tremendous response. We’re committed to delivering on our extensive plans at Domino — this includes affordable and market-rate apartments that are exactly the same, from finishes and fixtures to shared entrances.”