Affordable Housing

NDR Group recently completed construction on Garito Manor at Union Square. The 102-unit, $30 million facility will accommodate seniors over the age of 62 with lower incomes. While funding for the project came from many sources, NYSERDA provided a $399,000 grant for the project’s green features, which include five geothermal wells, energy efficient lighting, windows, and insulation, and locally-sourced materials. Perkins Eastman Architects designed the project with construction management services from Andon Construction Company. Garito Manor is seeking an unspecified level of LEED certification; for monthly rents ranging from $2200-$2800 residents will enjoy two daily meals, 24-hour security and concierge, housekeeping, and transportation services.

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.

1070 Anderson Avenue, designed by Manhattan-based Magnusson Architects is an 8-story affordable housing development in the Highbridge section of the Bronx that will offer 41 units in a variety of studio and one-, two-, and three-bedroom configurations. The $12 million tower’s design is inspired by principles of Art Deco and rises as a south-facing L, increasing the reach of natural light into each apartment and also creating a 6000-square-foot courtyard for residents to enjoy. Green roofs grace the seventh- and eighth-floor setbacks, while low-E, Energy Star-certified windows, an efficient rooftop boiler, and continuous exterior insulation will aim to lower the building’s utility bills. Other green features include low-VOC paints and materials, dual flush toilets, CFLs, and Kone Ecospec elevators. The building’s lobby includes local plants and shrubbery that will receive water from a rainwater collection system. Developer New Destiny Housing is considering applying for a LEED Silver rating, but will participate in an NYSERDA incentive program.

Intervale Green is a $45 million, 127-unit affordable housing development under construction in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. Project sponsor WHEDC teamed with energy consultant Steven Winter Associates to reduce the building’s expected energy costs by 35 percent through numerous sustainable design elements, including the installation of EnergyStar appliances and light fixtures. Other green design features include two different green roofs, low-e windows, and non-toxic paints and sealants- important because the Morrisania neighborhood holds the unfortunate distinction of the highest asthma rate in the Bronx

On Monday, Jonathan Rose Companies and the Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (“HCCI”), co-developers of David & Joyce Dinkins Gardens, opened the $19.5 million, 85-unit green building at 263 West 153rd Street, just across the Harlem River from Yankee Stadium between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Macomb Place. The project is named for former New York City Mayor David Dinkins and his wife- Mr. Dinkins is the only African-American to serve as mayor in Gotham’s history- and the development is part of Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to build 165,000 units of affordable housing for 500,000 New Yorkers over the next ten years.

This month’s issue of Natural Home magazine includes a list of the top ten eco-friendly neighborhoods in the U.S. At number ten, it includes Markham Gardens, an affordable housing development in the West Brighton section of Staten Island’s north shore. In 2004, the New York City Housing Authority (”NYCHA”) announced plans to demolish the development, which featured low-rise, duplex homes with front and backyards. Tenants turned to the Pratt Institute for Community Development for help in saving their homes. Pratt determined that the housing complex (which was originally built in 1943 for World War II shipyard laborers) was structurally sound and historically significant, but “significant rehabilitation” was necessary.

It might be a bit early to start looking back on what has been a truly watershed year for the green movement at large, and green building in particular, but here’s our stab at the top five green buildings in New York City that either received a LEED rating or were completed during the course [...]

We’ll stick with green affordable housing projects in Brooklyn today and note Glenmore Gardens, a $2.3 million, five-building, ten-unit development in East New York which was funded by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (“HPD”) New Foundations Program on land owned by HPD. New Foundations encourages smaller developers to build affordable housing in neighborhoods [...]