A long-vacant New York City hospital is being transformed into a 145-unit affordable housing property and the new home of the Forest Hills Jewish Center.
The project team recently held a “glass-breaking” ceremony to celebrate the start of construction of The Perennial.
Located in the Forest Hills section of Queens, the development reimagines the old Parkway Hospital, which has been vacant for nearly two decades, into an intergenerational and mixed-use property.
“We have spent the last five years working toward today’s achievement. The complexity of the funding sources and the nature of the project itself made this a very long and challenging process,” said Jeff Fox, principal of lead developer Foxy Development.
His firm is co-developing the ambitious project with Selfhelp Realty Group.
“The Perennial will take advantage of a recent rezoning to add a 50,000-square-foot expansion to the existing hospital building,” Fox said. “We are not only adding a two-story overbuild but also converting an existing structure from one use to another and carving out a double-height, column-free sanctuary—all within an abandoned 60-year-old hospital building. Add a complex mix of public financing sources and unprecedented national political and economic landscape changes, we often felt like Sisyphus pushing a boulder up the hill.”
When completed, the 156,133-square-foot building will house 145 affordable housing units for households earning up to 50% of the area median income. These will include 124 senior units, including 44 units for formerly homeless seniors, and 20 family units, as well as the 34,000-square-foot Forest Hills Jewish Center.
Laying the Groundwork
Foxy Development became involved in 2020 following a Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) that upzoned the site to a higher density classification.
An integral part of the ULURP process was an agreement to not only include Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH), which requires a developer to set aside a minimum of 25% of residential space in a project for affordable housing, but to create those MIH units for seniors, said officials.
The firm was tapped as the senior affordable developer given its experience. Foxy Development has completed three senior projects since 2018 and has another two developments in its immediate pipeline.
In 2022, the property was sold to a Queens-based developer, which struck a deal to donate the hospital building while retaining the parking lot to develop into a market-rate multifamily property. This development structure allowed Foxy to leverage the public financing resources necessary to develop the project and fulfill the site’s MIH requirement.
“This was new territory for all that were involved,” Fox said.
Selfhelp joined the team in 2024, bringing its local community ties and emphasis on the building features needed to enhance senior independence, while fostering a community environment. It will operate the social services, providing support to older adult residents, some of whom will be moving from homeless shelters. Services will include case management, health services, and educational programing to ensure that each resident has the resources needed to age at their own pace.
Financing Details
The development team says The Perennial is one of the most complex private-public redevelopment projects in the city’s recent history, and the first deeply affordable senior housing project in Forest Hills.
The $150 million development is supported by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), which is providing capital financing and rental subsidy, so senior residents pay no more than 30% of their income for rent. Additional subsidy from NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) will fund social services provided by Selfhelp.
Other financing includes:
- A $37.5 million construction loan from TD Bank;
- A $40.1 Freddie Mac forward permanent loan from Community Preservation Corp.;
- A $70.7 million HPD Senior Affordable Rental Apartments loan, including $18.2 million in federal HOME funds; and
- $3.6 million in New York State Climate Friendly Homes Funds from New York State Homes and Community Renewal.
The Perennial will also receive a 40-year property tax exemption and states sales tax exemption during construction.
The development will feature an eight-story addition on the north side, a four-story addition on the northwest corner, a two-story vertical addition, and completely redeveloped interiors.
The project team includes architect Newman Design, structural engineer Cityscape Engineering, general contractor Suffolk Construction, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineer Mottola Rini Engineers.