On Tuesday, May 23 , Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined representatives from the Actors’ Fund of America, Common Ground Community, Hamlin Ventures, Time Equities, and fellow public officials for the groundbreaking of Schermerhorn House, a new supportive housing development in Downtown Brooklyn.

Borough President Markowitz contributed $500,000 to the project to ensure that its units remain 100 percent affordable. More than 50 percent of the development’s 217 units will be reserved for formerly homeless and special-needs individuals. Low-income working tenants, including local actors and artists, will occupy the remainder of the units. The facility will also include a 200-seat black box theater and multipurpose space that will be open to the public for community art shows, rehearsals, and performances.

“As the new Downtown Brooklyn takes shape as a world-class 24/7 live-work community, Schermerhorn House will ensure that the area reflects the diversity that defines Brooklyn,” said Borough President Markowitz. “The development’s 200-plus moderate-income units will enable artists to continue to make Brooklyn New York City’s creative capital, while empowering the formerly homeless to pursue their own American Dream. I wish we had a dozen more like it.”

The project marks the beginning of the transformation of Schermerhorn Street into a new residential corridor in Downtown Brooklyn, which was rezoned in 2004 to encourage new mixed-use developments. Schermerhorn House will feature several “green design” elements such as rooftop gardens and a high-efficiency boiler system, and will reflect the vision of transforming Downtown Brooklyn into an integrated, dynamic urban neighborhood with market-rate housing, retail, and supportive housing that will preserve its ethnic and income diversity.