Jennings Hall expands to add 187 affordable units for low-income elderly
St. Nicks Alliance is delighted to announce the start of construction of an innovative project that creates senior housing along with a 24,000 sq. ft. social service community facility. This new fourteen-story building will adjoin Jennings Hall (260 Powers Street) at the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Grand Street, adding 187 units to form a campus of 337 rental housing apartments for low-income elderly. This development is due to break ground in mid-September.
Jennings Hall was developed by St. Nicks Alliance following a 1975 fire which destroyed a row of houses that displaced nineteen families. Neighbors worked together to help these families recover, and this group of neighbors united with other community members to form St. Nicks Alliance. Jennings Hall’s 150 units have provided critical homes for low-income elderly for more than 45 years.
St. Nicks Alliance coordinated a recapitalizing in 2010 with $3.5M in renovations including: full window replacements, new kitchen cabinets and appliances for the units, heating conversion and controls, roof replacement and insulation, and new garden and landscaping. This allowed Jennings Hall to open assisted living services, which allows frail residents who need household support and certain services to live in their own apartments rather than going to a nursing home. However, the number of available units cannot meet the local demand from the aging population.
NYC has seen a large growth in the population of adults that are 65 and older. This age group’s population increased by 53% from 2000 to 2023, as stated in Older Adults in NYC: Demographics and Service Trends report by The Office of the NYS Comptroller released in January 2025.
“The North Brooklyn community desperately needs more housing for elderly residents. All five of the senior buildings under St. Nicks Alliance’s management have long waiting lists. We receive weekly housing requests from local seniors who must then join waiting lists which can take years before their log number is reached,” said Frank Lang, director of affordable housing policy and advocacy for St. Nicks Alliance.
In the intervening years, St. Nicks Alliance pursued many options to create more senior apartments. In 2021 St. Nicks Alliance purchased the vacant Chase Bank branch on the corner of Grand Street and Bushwick Avenue. Combining the property with a portion of the adjacent Jennings Hall property allowed for the construction of a much larger building. The proposed development went through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and was approved in 2023.
“St. Nicks Alliance acquired the land for the project five years ago with the help of Leviticus, a faith-based lender who provided a $6.2M loan to acquire the property. Leviticus drew on capital from the reserve fund of religious orders of Catholic nuns to make this loan. [They] have deep faith in St. Nicks Alliance,” said Michael Rochford, executive director for St. Nicks Alliance.
The final design integrates the new building with Jennings Hall to create that unified campus. Like the existing Jennings Hall units, all 187 new apartments are dedicated to very low-income elderly with household incomes at or below 60% AMI. They will receive a rental subsidy, ensuring that no household is rent burdened. 56 apartments of these new apartments are reserved for formerly homeless elderly households with special needs.
The total development costs of $213M is funded through: The New York City Housing Development Corporation tax-exempt bonds and ELLA subsidy, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, SARA and HOME funds, NYSERDA grants and $3.5M in discretionary capital funding from Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and $1.5M from NYC Council members Gutiérrez and Restler. Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust Company is providing the permanent loan.
All residents on the Jennings campus will receive social services from dedicated St. Nicks Alliance staff. The second and third floors of the new building contain a 24,000 sq. ft. community facility with social service counseling for low income and special needs residents.
In addition to adding more affordable senior housing to the area, Grand Jennings will bring more amenities for the current residents of Jennings Hall. A new garden and sitting area will be created along the Bushwick Avenue side for residents. All residents of both buildings, will enjoy all the community facilities including three new lounges in the new building on the ground floor, seventh floor, and fourteenth floor.
The Greenline 