HUD Secretary's Best in American Living Award Winners 1998
La Esperanza Homes
New York City, New York
Sales Price of Unit Entered: $240,000 (three-family home)
Median Home Price in the Metropolitan Statistical Area: $178,250
Description: La Esperanza Homes ("Homes of Hope") is a development of 20 three-family homes created through the cooperative efforts of the City of New York, the State of New York Affording Housing Corporation, nonprofit community groups, private builders, and financial institutions.
East Harlem is one of the poorest communities in Manhattan, characterized by poverty, high unemployment, poor educational facilities, and a high number of single-parent households. La Esperanza Homes have transformed vacant city lots into an area containing attractive townhouses, complete with hardwood floors, private backyards, garages and other amenities. The development, which is handicapped adaptable, has brought homeownership into an area characterized primarily by rental housing.
Small locally-based builders were selected to develop affordable homes on city-owned vacant land. A variety of Federal and local government subsidies were provided to make the homes affordable to households earning less than $70,950, and two nonprofit community organizations assisted with outreach and marketing.
Each three-family home has a total development cost of $341,448. The homes were sold at an average price of $237,750 and income from the rental units will be used to help the purchaser meet the monthly mortgage payment.
