How JPMorganChase's investment is helping New York City create housing units at scale

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In South Jamaica, Queens, the former JFK Hilton Hotel stands ready to welcome a new kind of guest. Newly transformed into the Baisley Pond Park Residences, the building will soon provide permanent homes for 317 New Yorkers, most of whom have past experiences of homelessness.

In the Bronx, in another innovative conversion, the century-old Calvary Hospital campus is being similarly reimagined, in a way that will benefit both residents and the community at large.

These aren't typical housing developments. They're part of a new, innovative way New York City addresses its housing supply—one that's faster, more efficient, and with deeper community impact than traditional ground-up construction.

“New York City’s housing crisis demands not just more housing, but also new ways of thinking about how we create and sustain communities,” said Jane Silverman, Executive Director of Community Development Banking at JPMorganChase. “As a firm, we believe that innovative solutions—especially those that involve reimagining existing spaces and fostering collaboration between public and private sectors—are essential to meeting this challenge.”

The speed imperative: Baisley Pond

New York City doesn't have enough housing. By 2032, the city will need an estimated 473,000 new apartments. Housing scarcity, along with job growth (which has far outpaced housing growth over the past 15 years), spiked housing prices by 68% between 2012 and 2022.

Building new housing from the ground up can take years, but New Yorkers need homes now. That's why JPMorganChase is backing innovative approaches to adding housing supply—whether it’s helping non-profits finance projects at below-market rates or devising ways of building finished homes at faster rates.

"The most important thing here is the speed to market," says David Schwartz, co-founder of Slate Property Group, which developed Baisley Pond. "We have to think about the number of units, but we also have to think about how quickly we can build these units.”

A hotel conversion makes an accelerated schedule possible. "You don't have to build a foundation and superstructure," Schwartz explains. "Day one you can go in there and start interior work." Baisley Pond went from acquisition to lease-up in about two years, a remarkably fast pace.

Speed thus becomes a way to preserve human dignity. Every month shaved off the development schedule is another month that families can live in stable housing.

Cracking the code

Baisley Pond provides more than a place to live, says Kieran Harrington, CEO of RiseBoro Community Partnership, the nonprofit that co-developed, owns and operates the site. Its "light touch" services offer what he calls "accompaniment" to residents who are finding their way in the world—helping them set up bank accounts, make connections to job training, and even sign up for yoga classes.

Baisley Pond couldn’t have been built without a financially innovative approach that enabled RiseBoro to borrow at lower rates and higher leverage. "Without that money, there would be no project," Harrington says simply. JPMorganChase provided a $50.9 million standby letter of credit, helping to make New York City’s first-ever hotel-to-affordable housing conversion possible.

“This development is an example of what’s possible when the public and private sectors partner on innovative financing solutions to address complex issues like housing,” said Julie Gonzalez, Executive Director for Community Development Housing at JPMorganChase. “We’re proud to work with Slate and RiseBoro on bringing developments like Baisley Pond Park to New Yorkers, meeting the needs of the community in South Jamaica.”

Starhill: Stitching a community back together

The Bronx faces some of New York’s greatest housing challenges, but new developments like The Starhill, in Morris Heights, will provide not only housing for the vulnerable, but also public space for the entire community.

For sixty-five years, the Starhill campus housed the first Bronx hospital to provide hospice care to cancer patients. “We’re recognizing and building on that legacy,” Silverman says of the new development, “recognizing another transformation—where people can build and rebuild their lives.”

Bronx Pro Group and its codeveloper, Services for the UnderServed (S:US), spent years engaging with community stakeholders. "This site has always been a visual marker in that community," says Samantha Magistro, CEO of Bronx Pro Group, whose father grew up driving past the hospital as a child. "We wanted to be thoughtful about stitching community fabric back together." Those conversations deeply informed the design of the two-acre development, which includes 11,500 square feet of public green space—notable in a Bronx neighborhood that has one of the city’s lowest concentrations of such space.

Financed in part with a $92M JPMorganChase direct pay letter of credit, Starhill exemplifies our longstanding commitment to New York City, which to date includes helping to create and preserve over 116,000 affordable homes in the five boroughs. The Starhill complex includes two new apartment buildings, a primary health clinic, a fitness facility, a garden, a computer room, and a children’s play area. Like Baisley Pond, Starhill is premised on the understanding that housing alone isn't enough. Phase One includes a total of 326 units: 200 will be reserved for residents recovering from mental-health or substance-abuse disorders, and the remaining 126 for residents earning between 30% and 80% of Area Median Income.

Providing resources beyond shelter

A staff of twelve full-time S:US employees work with 200 supportive housing residents, offering voluntary—not mandatory—accompaniment. “A lot of these folks have been cycling in and out of institutions for a long time," explains Arlo Chase, S:US Senior Vice President of Real Estate & Property Development. "Many individuals are understandably hesitant at first. So gaining that trust and starting to talk about life goals is the first step."

Services range from mental-health counseling and substance-use support to nutrition classes and employment readiness. Perry Perlmutter, CEO of S:US, describes Starhill as “more than a safe, dignified place to live. It’s an environment where residents can thrive mentally, physically, and socially." Research has consistently shown that supportive housing significantly reduces returns to homelessness, while also improving health outcomes and reducing emergency-service costs. Ninety-five percent of Starhill’s supportive-housing residents maintain their tenancy for at least three years.

Making it replicable

Both Schwartz and Magistro emphasize that these projects are blueprints—not one-off experiments. Schwartz, who is already working on another conversion, estimates that a dozen other New York City hotels could be transformed into affordable housing. Bronx Pro Group is expanding its portfolio. And the financing structures are being studied for replication nationwide.

"The first time with various city and state agencies, it's complicated," Schwartz acknowledges. "But JPMorganChase saw how important this was and jumped all over it. The goal is to provide as much housing as possible. They wanted to get to yes."

That collaboration—between mission-driven nonprofits, experienced developers, and financial institutions willing to innovate—may be the most replicable element of all. Every city has financial institutions that are willing to think differently. Every city has dedicated community organizations. And increasingly, cities across the country have hotels that are underutilized.

With speed, innovation, and collaboration, creating housing units at scale isn't just possible—it's already happening.

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