Magnusson Architects’ Melrose Commons Brings LEED-ND to South Bronx

November 6th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under

Designed by Manhattan-based Magnusson Architecture and Planning , Melrose Commons is one of only six projects in the state of New York that is participating in USGBC’s LEED for Neighborhood Development ("LEED-ND") Pilot Program. The 2000-unit, mixed-use and income development will set aside 50 percent of available units for households at or below 60 percent of HUD income limits. The city is currently soliciting developers for three individual parcels on East 162nd and East 163rd Streets between Courtlandt and Melrose Avenues in the South Bronx, and individual buildings will be required to comply with both NYSERDA’s Multifamily Performance Program and the Enterprise Green Communities rating criteria.

Magnusson is well-acquainted with green design; we’ve written about the firm’s 1070 Anderson Avenue project in the Bronx and Atlantic Terrace in Brooklyn, both affordable residential developments that are seeking LEED ratings from USGBC. It also designed the El Jardin de Selene at East 158th Street and Melrose Avenue. That project- also mixed-use and affordable- is seeking a LEED Silver rating. The Melrose Commons development was featured back in September at the World Sustainable Building Conference in Melbourne, Australia.

We’re always pleased here at gbNYC to see sustainable design applied to affordable, community-based development that acknowledges the broader social goals of green building generally, so we’ll, of course, be following the Melrose Commons project as its LEED-ND application proceeds in the coming months.