Breaking Ground, a nonprofit that tackles housing insecurity in NYC, received a $500,0000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation to support the development of new affordable housing units in East Harlem.
The 1760 Third Ave. Project will be composed of 435 units for both formerly unhoused individuals and low-income households.
“There isn’t a lot of permanent supportive housing for formerly [unhoused] individuals and for low-income working individuals on the Upper East Side and East Harlem,” said Brenda Rosen, President and CEO of Breaking Ground. “And so, given that, we are always looking for large-scale projects because we’re really comfortable with them. That’s what we do.”
Unit rendering. (Photo credit: Image courtesy Dattner Architects for Breaking Ground) Credit: (Photo credit: Image courtesy Dattner Architects for Breaking Ground) 
Unit floor plan render for 1760 Third Avenue housing units. (Photo credit: Image courtesy Dattner Architects for Breaking Ground) Credit: (Photo credit: Image courtesy Dattner Architects for Breaking Ground) 
Rendering of the 1760 Third Avenue exterior. (Photo credit: Image courtesy Dattner Architects for Breaking Ground) Credit: (Photo credit: Image courtesy Dattner Architects for Breaking Ground) 
First floor floor plan rendering. (Photo credit: Image courtesy Dattner Architects for Breaking Ground) Credit: (Photo credit: Image courtesy Dattner Architects for Breaking Ground)
Rosen explained that 261 units in the building will be supportive units for individuals who’ve been chronically unhoused, and 173 are “affordable” units for low-income individuals and families at or below 60% of the area’s median income.
The 19-story building will include amenities such as a multi-purpose room, a gym, and a computer lab. Supportive housing residents will specifically have access to on-site social services such as case managers, medical care, and employee assistance. They’ll also be entering furnished apartments.
The structure was previously used as a dormitory by Hunter College and Baruch College, before becoming a shelter for migrants. In June 2024, Breaking Ground officially acquired the building, enabling them to transform the property into permanent housing, according to Rosen.
“Because this came to us as an underutilized building that we could repurpose for supportive housing, and it could offer well over 400 units of housing, and it was in a location that is close to public transportation, which all of our tenants need …we knew that this was an opportunity to bring stable long term housing [to a neighborhood] that needed this type of housing,” said Rosen.
For supportive housing, individuals are selected through the city’s Coordinated Assessment and Placement System, which prioritizes the most vulnerable New Yorkers. Families seeking to enter the affordable units will be selected through the city’s Housing Connect lottery system.
Krissy Moore, Senior Vice President of Community Relations at Wells Fargo for the Northeast Region, said the bank is committed to supporting the community through organizations like Breaking Ground.
“Everyone deserves access to a quality, affordable place to call home,” said Moore. “We’re committed to putting people and communities first, and we make sure that we’re aligned to organizations that are doing that type of work.”
Most financing for the project came through a $128 million mortgage from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), with additional funding from the New York Acquisition Fund and the NYS Homeless Housing and Assistance Corporation, but donations from companies like Wells Fargo have helped to cover the costs of other necessities.
“Those are the funds that we can use to close a capital gap as well as fund some things such as furniture for the supportive housing units,” said Rosen.
While grateful for Wells Fargo’s contribution, she emphasized that housing projects like these must stay on the city’s radar so that Breaking Ground can keep doing this work.
“We have to advocate with the city and the state to ensure that this remains a priority for them.”
Construction is expected to begin next month with an anticipated completion timeline of one to two years.
Glad that Breaking Ground is doing this.
But surprised that CEO Brenda Rosen thinks “There isn’t a lot of permanent supportive housing for formerly [unhoused] individuals and for low-income working individuals in East Harlem,” when East Harlem has the highest number of shelters in Manhattan and also has one of the highest concentrations of public housing in the United States