Project Overview
Redevelopment of Pilgrim Village will preserve 89 units of existing affordable housing and contribute 148 units of additional affordable housing in an affordable cornerstone community in Buffalo
Pilgrim Village was constructed in 1980 as townhouse-style units designed for low-income families receiving project-based Section 8 assistance. The project is nestled amongst Buffalo’s Bryant, Masten Park, and Fruit Belt neighborhoods, which have experienced significant growth in recent years and are now important employment hubs in the city. SAA|EVI is redeveloping the site to better meet the needs of the existing family population, expand available housing to eligible seniors, and to better integrate into the project’s revitalizing neighborhood.
With the support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), SAA|EVI is demolishing the existing townhomes and redeveloping the site, constructing two adjacent mid-rise affordable housing projects. The first project will be comprised of 90 project-based Section 8 family units as well as additional affordable housing units. The second will be designed to serve low-income elderly households.
Applicable HUD Programs
- Project-Based Section 8
- HAP Renewal
- Moving MTM Use Agreement
Meet the Project Team
Principal
Associate
Paralegal
Family Housing
Pilgrim Village Family: 105-unit Family Housing Redevelopment
HAO worked with HUD and SAA|EVI to move the MTM Use Agreement recorded against Pilgrim Village to the adjacent parcel with a new senior building, thereby eliminating the associated rent-increase restrictions that encumbered the property and suppressed Section 8 rents to levels well below market. Moving the MTM Use Agreement enabled the renewal of the Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Contract at market rents that could support the preservation financing necessary to implement the redevelopment plan.
HAO also worked with SAA|EVI to obtain the HUD approvals necessary to temporarily move all residents off-site during the construction period, demolish the existing townhomes, and replace them with a contemporary midrise building with modern amenities. Most of the new units in the family project will receive project-based Section 8 subsidy and the remaining units will also serve low-income families.
This process included obtaining HUD approvals for pass-through leases, the assignment of the HAP contract to the new ownership entity of the family project, and the renewal of the HAP contract.
Senior Housing
Pilgrim Village Senior: 132-unit Senior Housing Development
HAO helped structure the transaction to facilitate the transfer of the MTM Use Agreement to Pilgrim Village Senior. Since Pilgrim Village Senior does not receive project-based Section 8 assistance and since it is encumbered by a LIHTC use restriction, the MTM Use Agreement will not have an adverse impact on the project’s rent setting. HAO worked with SAA|EVI and HUD to amend and restate the MTM Use Agreement so that it could be transferred to the senior portion of the redevelopment.
Anticipated Outcomes
Redevelopment Expected to Have Lasting Impact on Community
The dated townhouse-style units had reached the end of their useful life and no longer met the needs of residents or the neighborhood. Through coordination with HUD, HAO assisted SAA|EVI with implementing its sophisticated and ambitious redevelopment plan.
View Examples of Our Other Work
Our partnership with Wingate Companies shows how HAO guides clients through complex, multi-phase projects. See other examples of our work by viewing our project portfolio.
