When the housing lottery became available last spring for the Norwood Gardens, the newly-built 11-story property in Norwood, Christina Donkor wasn’t sure about her chances to get an apartment. But she submitted her paperwork and let to process play out.

During the ribbon cutting event on April 9, Mark Stagg, CEO and founder of the Stagg Group, acknowledged Donkor and fellow resident Latoya Wilson who were present and praised them for their perseverance during the selection process.

“I’m grateful that it all worked out because I was looking for a place like this,” Donkor said.

The building–a modern-looking building whose neon blue and purple lights on its facade can be seen from a distance–is located at 410 E. 203rd St. on what was a vacant lot.  According to the Stagg Group, it is comprised of 118 affordable housing units ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments. They also announced the inclusion of one unit for a live-in superintendent.

The inclusion of a live-in superintendent is a fight tenants won’t have to contend with at the new property, unlike the neighboring Bedford Park Manor, a Stagg-owned property on Webster Avenue near Bedford Park Boulevard that for years did not have a live-in super. Though the Bedford Park Manor had been built in 2015–a result of the 2011 rezoning of Webster Avenue–up until recently the building did not have a live-in super, but a porter.

In order to complete the construction of the Norwood Gardens, the Stagg Group put together more than 10 financing and development partners including the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Chase Bank Community Development, and Richman Housing Resources.

“Getting a project like this done takes many partnerships,” said Stagg.  “And there are always things that come up to delay the process.”

The waiting was also hard on Wilson.  “It was a lot of paperwork but I knew that if I got in, it was all going to be worth it,” she said.

Delays were also marred by work stoppages enforced by the New York City Department of Buildings in 2017 after the agency found that the required site safety coordinator was absent following an accident at the site that resulted in no injuries. A DOB spokesman at the time could not explain why the company-hired coordinator, who was hit with a violation, was not there. The spokesman did point out at the time that it was the second time a site safety coordinator was absent at the site, the first being on March 9, 2017.

A unique feature of Norwood Gardens is the inclusion of a 24-hour daycare on its first floor meant to provide services to children aged three to 12.  Some of their pre-school members entertained the audience of the ribbon-cutting event with renditions of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and “Baby Shark.”

Final rents are determined by the income of applicants, but will range from $865 per month for a studio to $1,289 per month for three-bedroom units.

Stagg said his group is “committed to building high-quality housing for Bronx residents,” and added that the Norwood Gardens “not only addresses the critical need for affordable housing, but one that includes attractive amenities to enhance our tenants’ lives.”