Sub Markets

Property Sectors

Topics

New York & Tri-State CRE News In Your Inbox.

Sign up for Connect emails to stay informed with CRE stories that are 150 words or less.

New York & Tri-State  + Uptown/Bronx  + Apartments  | 

Conversion of Illegal Hotel to SRO Lands $38M Financing

Rockabill Development and Goddard Riverside recently closed on $38 million in financing to transform an illegal transient hotel on the Upper West Side into permanent supportive housing to serve single adults with a history of chronic homelessness as they recover from the trauma of living on the street.

Legally zoned for residential use, the single-room occupancy (SRO) property located at 235 W. 107th St. was operated as an illegal hotel by the prior owner. Formerly known as The Morningside Inn, it received more than $280,000 in fines from the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement over illegal use of the building dating back to 2012.

Rockabill and Goddard acquired the property in March 2021 with the goal of transforming the property into permanent supportive housing. Katie Devine, principal at Rockabill, said, “At a time when the need for high-quality supportive housing has never been greater, the responsible preservation of SROs is smart public policy and adds to the social safety net for extremely low-income New Yorkers.”

Connect

Inside The Story

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

  • ◦Development
  • ◦Financing
New call-to-action