The Doe Fund closes on construction financing for transitional housing

January 31, 2023 - Front Section
510 Gates Avenue rendering - Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, NY The Doe Fund, a homeless services organization known for its Ready, Willing & Able work program and its portfolio of more than one million s/f of transitional, affordable, and supportive housing, closed on construction financing for its latest transitional residence at 510 Gates Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Demolition of the existing structure at 510 Gates Ave. is expected to start in February; the entire project is estimated to take 27 months. The residence is designed by Urban Architectural Initiatives.

When completed, 510 Gates Ave. will provide 200 beds to men experiencing homelessness who have been referred by the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) transitional housing program. These individuals will have the opportunity to voluntarily participate in The Doe Fund’s 9-12 month Ready, Willing & Able program.

Ready, Willing & Able is a workforce development program, providing access to paid work in social enterprise—including a street cleaning service covering 115 miles of NYC streets—alongside comprehensive supportive services such as case management, career training in living wage fields such as skilled trades, addiction recovery, adult basic education and high school equivalency, computer literacy, financial management, parenting and legal support, and much more. Graduates of Ready, Willing & Able are 62% less likely to recidivate compared to demographically-identical individuals.

510 Gates Ave. is adjacent to The Doe Fund’s first transitional residence, 520 Gates Ave., a 60-bed facility originally developed in 1990. Since then, the organization has expanded to a 200-bed residence in Harlem and a 400-bed residence in East Williamsburg. The organization’s portfolio also includes nearly 900,000 s/f permanent affordable and supportive housing in operation and development.

Together, Ready, Willing & Able and The Doe Fund’s permanent housing provide a continuum of care that reaches all New Yorkers experiencing homelessness—both those who are able to work and those who can’t due to conditions such as HIV/AIDS or serious mental illness.

The Doe Fund acquired 510 Gates Ave. in 2020, financed by a two-year acquisition loan from KeyBanc Capital Markets. Servicing and repayment of the loan will come from contractual payments by DHS under a 22-year service contract. Financing for the project will come from both public and private sources, including DHS, SLC Management, and KeyBanc’s Community Development Group.

“Gates Avenue is where it all began for us — where we first proved to the world that when given the opportunity to work and earn a living, people experiencing homelessness would seize it,” said John McDonald, executive vice president of real estate & interim president of The Doe Fund. “Since then, nearly 30,000 men have been given the gift of opportunity and the chance to transform their lives at our transitional residences through Ready, Willing & Able. Soon, we’ll be able to extend that same opportunity, in the same location, to 200 more men at a time when our city needs it most. The Doe Fund is proud to be a resource to the city in this moment of crisis. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to homelessness; transitional housing like 510 Gates Ave., together alongside work-based programs like Ready, Willing & Able and permanent affordable and supportive housing, is critical to providing a continuum of care that meets the diverse needs of this population where they are.”

He continued, “We have deep, long-standing roots in the Bed-Stuy community and our expanded presence there will continue to uplift the neighborhood. We express our profound gratitude to mayor Adams, who as Brooklyn Borough president was instrumental in realizing this vision, as well as New York City’s 36th City Council district and Community Board 3.”

“Bed-Stuy has a deep need for transitional housing. The Doe Fund’s work has been impactful in this area and we are thrilled to see it able to expand,” said New York City Council member Chi Osse, whose district includes Bed-Stuy. “In the fight against homelessness, transitional housing is a powerful tool that centers dignity and comfort as top priorities and we are eagerly looking forward to this project’s completion.”

“The Department of Homeless Services is proud to partner with the Doe Fund on 510 Gates Ave. This transitional housing facility will provide men experiencing homelessness access to essential workforce development training, case management and other targeted services to support transition to permanency,” said Department of Social Services commissioner Gary Jenkins. “The Ready, Willing & Able program sets the standard as a workforce development program and we value our partnership with The Doe Fund in connecting thousands of men to programs and services through innovative social enterprise.”

“Projects like 510 Gates demonstrate the ability of sophisticated mission-driven organizations like The Doe Fund to improve the lives of those most in need,” said Sam Adams, managing director, public finance, KeyBanc Capital Markets. “Their partnership with NYC DHS shows how private and public parties can work together to achieve incredible results. Key was incredibly fortunate to be able to bring its financial expertise in affordable & social housing to secure the financing necessary to redevelop this space to serve the community for decades to come. By utilizing our abilities as both a commercial bank and investment bank, we were able to provide a highly effective solution for the Doe Fund through turbulent markets. We look forward to seeing the final results of the project and continuing to support other similar organizations as they tackle the increasingly challenging problem of ensuring safe and stable housing for all residents in the City.”

“We’re delighted to be continuing our work with The Doe Fund in financing their latest project at 510 Gates Ave.,” said Liz Thorne, managing director, private fixed income, SLC Management. “The health and wellbeing of our communities is integral to an equitable society and we’re thrilled that this investment will be providing an essential service to a vulnerable population that will help break the cycle of homelessness in New York.”

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