PMG Affordable and Brisa Builders Development have topped out construction on 19-19 Cornaga Ave., a 92-unit affordable housing community located in Far Rockaway, N.Y. The nine-story Queens building is set to open in the fourth quarter of 2026 and will comprise studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging from 331 to 652 square feet.
60 of the community’s units are designated as supportive housing and will be reserved for young adults aging out of foster care and families in need. Half of those spaces will be reserved for households with incomes at or below 30 percent of the area median income, with the other half for those with incomes at or below 50 percent of AMI.
An additional 30 units will be reserved for households making at or below 30 percent of the AMI, with support for these apartments coming from the Federal Housing Trust Fund.
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Paul Castrucci Architects designed 19-19 Cornaga Ave., and Urban Atelier Group is serving as the general contractor. Not On My Watch Inc. will serve as the project’s nonprofit social service provider, and Spring Leasing and Management will provide property management services.
Community details
Community amenities at 19-19 Cornaga Ave. will include a fitness center, computer room, resident lounge and outdoor courtyard, along with laundry facilities, bike storage and a multipurpose event space. Not on My Watch will also staff a social services office for residents.
The all-electric building has a focus on sustainability, with rooftop solar panels, high-efficiency LED lights, environmentally friendly finishes and units equipped with Energy Star appliances.
Located in the Downtown Far Rockaway Special Purpose District in Queens, the community is within half a mile of an MTA subway station, as well as a dining and shopping district. John F. Kennedy International Airport is within 7 miles.
A robust financing package
In March 2025, PMG Affordable and Brisa Builders Development secured a $51.7 million financing package from a mix of public and private sources to begin construction on the project. Bank of America provided a $28.4 million construction loan, and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development provided $12.9 million through the Supportive Housing Loan Program.
An additional $8.3 million came from the state government’s Homes and Community Renewal through the initiative’s Supportive Housing Opportunity Program, and HCR also provided $1.8 million through the FHTF. BWE is providing permanent financing for the community through Freddie Mac.
The project is also leveraging about $21.4 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity arranged by Enterprise Community Partners, $2.3 million in State LIHTC equity and $41,000 in solar tax credit equity.
The state of affordable
Investors are bullish on the affordable housing sector, with 90 percent of respondents in a recent Walker & Dunlop survey saying that they believed affordable housing appetite will increase in 2026.
Governments at all levels are increasingly looking at ways to boost affordable housing development. One federal proposal is the Housing for the 21st Century Act, a bill proposed by a bipartisan group of House lawmakers to streamline affordable housing construction.
New York City voters also approved three ballot measures in November 2025 designed to streamline affordable housing development by reducing the influence of the City Council on project approvals.
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