“Our Seniors Are the Crown Jewels”: A Black Church Gives Its Land for 56 Senior Homes in White Plains

• Mt Hope AME Zion Church made underused land available for a $40 million senior housing project
• The six-storey building has 56 apartments for people aged 62 and over
• Twenty units are set aside for seniors who have experienced homelessness
• The church put in $1 million and will share 47 parking spaces

Construction began in April 2024 on Mt Hope Plaza, a $40 million affordable housing development for seniors on land owned by Mt Hope A.M.E. Zion Church in White Plains, New York, the state’s housing agency announced. The church agreed to make its underused property available for the project.

The six-storey, all-electric building will have 56 apartments for adults aged 62 and older earning at or below 60 per cent of the area median income. Twenty units are reserved for seniors who have experienced homelessness, with supportive services. The building will include a green roof, a community room, laundry, free internet and a 72-space garage, 47 spaces of which will be shared with the church.

The funding came from many sources: $18.8 million in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits, $8 million from New York State Homes and Community Renewal, $2.1 million from Westchester County and $2.8 million from the county’s Housing Investment Fund, $400,000 from White Plains, $196,000 from NYSERDA, $500,000 a year from the Office of Mental Health, financing from Webster Bank, and $1 million from Mt Hope Church itself.

“Our seniors are the crown jewels of the community with the greatest need for adequate living accommodations,” said Senior Pastor Smith of Mt Hope. Governor Kathy Hochul said: “It’s vital that our efforts to combat the housing crisis include investments that allow our seniors to live independently in communities of their choice.” Housing Commissioner Visnauskas added: “We are working closely with New York’s faith-based community to identify collaboration opportunities.”

In Jamaica, too, older people, including returning residents, need safe, affordable homes close to their church and community. Mt Hope shows how a congregation’s land, a modest church contribution and layered public funding can combine into senior housing that also keeps parking and space for worship. Jamaican congregations in the New York area, and churches at home with idle land, could look at similar partnerships with housing agencies and lenders.

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