Opened in 1996, The Aurora Residence, the first housing development of its kind in the country, provides supportive housing to special low-income groups including seniors, working professionals and people living with AIDS. Located at 475 West 57th Street and Tenth Avenue in New York City, The Aurora is a 30-story, high rise condominium that was converted into 178 shared residential units of supportive housing.

At The Aurora, The Actors Fund provides on-site social services for residents. Social services provide information and referral to community resources, entitlement program advocacy, coordination of home care and medical services, outreach, health education and support groups. The social services staff includes two social workers, three case managers, and an activities coordinator.

The Actors Fund developed this supportive housing project with its partner, The Related Companies, L.P. The project was financed by Related Capital Company, Related's financial services division, through the sale of low-income housing tax credits. As an incentive to encourage private investment in low-income housing, the Internal Revenue Code allows individuals and corporations to use such credits to offset federal income tax liability. The tax credits were acquired by a group of financial institutions. Related pioneered the concept of converting failed market rate properties, produced as the result of an over-heated real estate market in the late 1980s, into quality supportive housing in the 1990s.

Special features of Aurora-style living include: four apartments per floor, parquet floors, large sliding windows, washer and dryer in each apartment, spacious closets, individual room heating, individual air conditioning units, bathrooms in black and white marble, dishwasher, ceramic kitchen tile and white Eurostyle cabinets. Many apartments have spectacular views and terraces. Each resident has his/her own bedroom and shares a living room and kitchen with one or two people. Some apartments have a shared bathroom, others have private baths. In addition to shared apartments, there are 27 one-bedroom units. One bedroom vacancies are prioritized to people with specialized medical needs.

On-site medical services are available to all residents through the Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic, a nonprofit organization. In addition, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York provides on-site evaluations to determine the individual medical needs of residents and arranges for all services and treatments.

Eligibility for the building is based on federal guidelines under the Internal Revenue Service Federal Tax Credit Program.  To be eligible, you must have an income of 60% or less of the area's median income.  To apply to the Aurora, your annual income may not exceed $32,280 and should not be less than $15,000.  We do accept most forms of rental subsidies.  A limited number of one-bedroom units are available for individuals with specialized needs who meet the medical criteria.  Households of two will be considered for a one bedroom only if both members are persons with AIDS, or senior citizens with joint incomes not exceeding income guidelines of $36,840 annually and a minimum income of no less than $16,000.

Aurora Applications

The Aurora is accepting applications, we also suggest you check The Actors Fund's Groups, Seminars and Workshops Listings for the next affordable housing seminar.  And for additional housing resources, please click to our own resource page.

Questions?  Please contact:
Intake Department/Common Ground Management
475 West 57th Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10019
212.262.4502
auroraIntake@commonground.org

Contact

For more information on The Aurora, please contact:

Ellen Celnik, Director of Social Services
212.489.2020
ecelnik@actorsfund.org

Naming Opportunities

There are many Naming Opportunities available to Actors Fund donors. To see a partial list of current opportunities, please click here.