Harlem Block Party: Entire Block of 135th Street Slated for Green Retrofits

Some blocks get all the history. West 135th Street in Harlem, between 7th Avenue and Lenox, was one of the proudest blocks in the neighborhood during Harlem's glory years. In 1910, the St. Philip's Episcopal Church -- the wealthiest of uptown's black churches during that period -- bought the block of homes on 135th Street, with the intention of renting them to parishioners. At the time, the row of stately townhomes were the first buildings that far uptown to belong to an African American landlord. The block was later the home (and one of the main subjects) of the famed photographer James Van Der Zee. These days, the block is notably worse for wear, but headed for another encounter with New York City history. As Stephen reported earlier this year, The Rose Smart Growth Investment Fund purchased West 135th's 198 units of housing (and 4,500 square feet of ground floor retail) back in December 2008, with the intention of giving the entire block a top-to-bottom green overhaul. The planned greening of 135th Street the most ambitious residential green retrofit project in New York City to date, by a longshot.

For Rose, getting an interim extension of the block's Section 8 status -- which was slated to expire in 2008 -- was key to securing capital assistance through Enterprise’s Green Communities Criteria, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Multifamily Building Performance Program, and the New York Division of Housing and Community Renewal’s Weatherization Assistance Program, as well as federal stimulus money through the Green Retrofits Program. Rose is currently working on a plan to ensure that the buildings -- which are near a 2/3 station and across the street from the Harlem YMCA, and thus could conceivably appreciate in value considerably if/when the market turns -- will remain affordable housing for at least the next 20 years. Equally exciting -- for green building dorks, at least -- is Rose's commitment to preserving the architectural integrity of the elegant townhomes while giving them their state-of-the-art building-systems makeover.

In the Daily News, Alana Casanova-Burgess reportst that there's much work to be done on 135th Street -- buildings have unpredictable boilers and predictably bad plumbing and rodent issues, among other problems. While it's reassuring that the retrofit will deal with those basic (and appalling) quality of life issues, it's also nice to see just how thoroughly the overhaul will re-make this block. The 32 unpredictable boilers on the block will be swapped out for 10 energy efficient models; energy-guzzling old appliances will be supplanted by new, more-efficient models; low-VOC paints and finishes will replace peeling paint jobs and sustainable flooring will replace the cracked tiles and wood currently in place. In short, this one looks like a project we'll be writing a lot about over the year to come. While all this news-making is nothing new for West 135th Street, it will be interesting to see how this one works out.