The agreement with federal, state and city officials allows the sale of the 34-year-old housing complex on Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn to begin this week.
The 140-acre complex comprises 46 brick towers with a total of 5,881 apartments, has its own power plant, shopping center, post office, churches and a synagogue.
It was slated to be sold for $1.3 billion last year, but the deal was blocked out of concerns that the high price would lead the new owner to raise rents on the more than 5,000 apartments.
"I never really thought we could get such a happy solution," Senator Charles E. Schumer told the New York Times. He helped block the sale last year.
Tenants and housing advocates have embraced the accord that would keep the housing project affordable for its mostly working and middle-class residents.
