$35.5M mixed-income housing complex, Renaissance Square, opens in San Juan
National affordable housing developer, McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc., and the Puerto Rico Department of Housing, have officially opened Renaissance Square, a new mixed-income apartment community located in Hato Rey.
A public/private partnership
between the Department of Housing, McCormack Baron Salazar, Citi Community
Development, and Hunt Capital Partners, the project used public dollars to
leverage private equity, resulting in a $35.5 million investment in the
transformation of a formerly vacant public housing site, developers said.
The new community has 140
apartment homes with one-, two- and three-bedroom units affordable to families
with a range of incomes; of the 140 total units, 60 percent are reserved for
very-low income families, 20 percent are reserved for workforce, and 20 percent
have market-rate rents.
Located in the heart of the San
Juan’s Golden Mile financial district, the community has walk-up and
townhome-style apartment buildings with market-rate amenities, green
energy-saving design, and resilient features.
“Both research and history have
proven that strong and vibrant communities are ones with a mix of income
levels, where people from different backgrounds live and work together,” said
Vincent R. Bennett, president of McCormack Baron Salazar.
“We have completed just such a
community in Renaissance Square, and we couldn’t be prouder of this place and
how it will impact this neighborhood and San Juan,” Bennett said.
The Spanish and Classical style
buildings connect to the larger neighborhood, providing residents access to job
centers, transportation, schools and recreation. It also includes
state-of-the-art site amenities with onsite management space, as well as a
community space with a fitness room and a business center for residents.
As a mixed-use development,
Renaissance Square incorporates commercial space to be occupied by Supermercado
Centro Ahorros Milla de Oro, the developers added.
“We’re proud to provide this
level of affordability within a first-rate community, and we look forward to
more projects like Renaissance Square,” said Daniel F. Acosta, senior vice president
of McCormack Baron Salazar and director of development for Puerto Rico.
“The opening of Renaissance
Square is part of a long-awaited revitalization that we hope will change the
landscape of the community,” he said. The community also has integrated health
and safety features like walking trails, play areas, community gardens, site
lighting, and controlled-access parking.
In addition to being a
mixed-income community, the Renaissance Square buildings are designed to
withstand the direct impact of a Category 4 storm and include hurricane-rated
doors, windows, roofs and structures.
McCormack Baron Salazar is also
the lead developer in the redevelopment of housing sites in Historic Old San
Juan and in Caguas.
A core component of the
McCormack Baron Salazar development approach is “layering public and private
funds to transform communities across the country,” executives said.
At Renaissance Square, the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development and Puerto Rico Department of
Housing committed funding and the Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority
provided low-income housing tax credits.
Hunt Capital Partners provided
tax credit equity and Citi Community Capital serves as the construction lender.
Planning and architectural
services are provided by Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón. The general contractor
for the redevelopment effort is F&R Construction Group Inc.
