Bronx Development

[TheInterloafer]

Ed, thanks for the link. Great blog! Welcome aboard and keep posting.

Here's a construction update.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3497/3978070357_5876fc8284_o.jpg
Courtlandt Corners (foreground) is coming along nicely, at least the north building. The tower to the rear is the Boricua Village main building. Its outer skin seems to be completed.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2461/3978070441_8239cc6e86_o.jpg
For a better look at the architecture, here's the 162nd Street side of Courtlandt Corners as seen from the Melrose Metro-North train station.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2640/3978832436_65716c97ca_o.jpg
Just for the record, construction is under way at the Concourse Plaza Office Tower II. That is a pile-driver at the rear of the lot.

[welcome2melrose]

As mentioned by Interloafer, Concourse Plaza Tower II is indeed going up and now with the new zone for the 161st street corridor which was adopted, a 3rd tower will be allowed in the parking lot facing 161st Street. Check out my posting on the new zone and what it means for all of us in the neighborhood.

http://welcome-to-melrose.blogspot.com/2009/10/161st-streetriver-avenue-rezoning.html

[ToastyPotato]

As mentioned by Interloafer, Concourse Plaza Tower II is indeed going up and now with the new zone for the 161st street corridor which was adopted, a 3rd tower will be allowed in the parking lot facing 161st Street. Check out my posting on the new zone and what it means for all of us in the neighborhood.

http://welcome-to-melrose.blogspot.com/2009/10/161st-streetriver-avenue-rezoning.html


That is pretty huge news, assuming all those proposed things actually get built.

[welcome2melrose]

Well considering how the administration is working very hard to solidify the neighborhood and the area being one of the last remaining affordable places to develop with a great transportation network i wouldn't be surprised to see some of this go on over the next few years.

[welcome2melrose]

New building going up on 3rd Ave at 158th Street in Melrose Commons section of the Bronx Building will be called LA TERRAZA

This is great news...it will be across the South Bronx Food Co-op which is a great place to shop for healthy organic food.

http://welcome-to-melrose.blogspot.com/2009/10/center-yourself-with-yoga-exclusively.html

[3044Orion]

The north rose looks like a winner, The North Rose is located in the Melrose section of the Bronx, NY take a look at a few of the images. You can look it up on the net by the north rose.

[3044Orion]

The North Rose will be Rental Units. The project will likely be done by mid 2010 or sooner. I think the apartments buildings will be great for the Melrose section of the Bronx. The development team behind the project are Atlantic Development Group. http://www.atlanticdevgroup.com/

[TheInterloafer]

As mentioned by Interloafer, Concourse Plaza Tower II is indeed going up and now with the new zone for the 161st street corridor which was adopted, a 3rd tower will be allowed in the parking lot facing 161st Street.

I would love to see a 13-story building go up on that parking lot. It is a vast underused and out-of-character space.

And think about this: That parking lot used to generate a lot of revenue from Yankee fans going to games. That revenue is going to dry up for a bunch of reasons. 1) New Metro-North station at Yankee Stadium opened in May. 2) New parking garages at Yankee Stadium are being built and will add up to 4,000 new parking spaces west of River Ave. 3) The new stadium seats fewer people than the old one. So less need for parking, plus a larger zoning envelope means the office building is a no-brainer!

[BrooklynLove]

I enjoy following this thread and keeping up on the latest developments in th BX so please don't take this the wrong way, but why is this thread STICKY?

[welcome2melrose]

Just wrote a little piece on one of our local community gardens...in an area like Melrose that has very little parkland, the gardens are an oases for the locals.

check it out at: http://welcome-to-melrose.blogspot.com/2009/10/spotlight-restoration-community-garden.html

[welcome2melrose]

I enjoy following this thread and keeping up on the latest developments in th BX so please don't take this the wrong way, but why is this thread STICKY?

Not sure what you mean by sticky?

[BrooklynLove]

Setting moderator places on the thread so that it stays at the top regardeless of whether it contains more recent posts than in other threads.

[ToastyPotato]

Most of the other BX threads are dead, so this is kind of the only BX thread left to post stuff in. The other threads are supposed to serve as hubs, but due to the amount of activity in other BK and Queens threads, I guess I could see how they might appear redundant.

But if this thread weren't sticky, it might disappear off the first page and people might forget about it all together! :(

[3044Orion]

I think that all community gardens should all be built on. The community garden only seem to be use for drinking and loud music. The community garden on Brook Ave at 157th street is so loud, with People playing music and with loud drunk people. This is not good for Melrose. The community garden on 157th at Brook Ave is an eye sore in the community. They poorly made make shift houses are all an eye sore. I would like to see affordable housing in all the community garden lots. It's not like people from the community even use the garden. The only people using the garden are usually people drinking and partying. The community garden are suppose to be green space for the community. Most of all the new devolvement being built all have green spaces. So if they build more developments the more contain green space the melrose section will have. The Melrose section of the Bronx have nice parks that people can go to for relaxation. I hope the Bronx board Remove all community gardens for the melrose section.

[3044Orion]

http://www.metrogreenbusiness.com/archive/article.php?issue=53&dept=92&id=870&pg=2

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/17/nyregion/17housing.html

[3044Orion]

http://www.rose-network.com/images/stories/projects/projects/Via_Verde/NHNY_Via_Verde_WEB_090623.p (http://www.rose-network.com/images/stories/projects/projects/Via_Verde/NHNY_Via_Verde_WEB_090623.pdf)df

[3044Orion]

NEW YORK, NY - May 7, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The board of the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) today approved four grants totaling $10.33 million to the Housing Partnership Development Corp. to build and rehabilitate 362 units of affordable housing in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn.
“Our funding will promote affordable homeownership by creating new homes in emerging neighborhoods across New York City,” said Priscilla Almodovar, AHC President and Chief Executive Officer. “These grants demonstrate that the Paterson administration is dedicated to supporting homeownership even in this difficult housing market.”
The four grants are described below:

Via Verde Co-ops

AHC approved a $1.775 million grant to build a 71-unit co-op at East 156th Street and Brook Avenue in the Melrose section of the Bronx. The project will include eight one-bedroom, 54 two-bedroom and nine three-bedroom cooperative apartments.
The units are being designed to exceed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold and enterprise Green Communities standards for environmentally responsible and energy-efficient design. The co-op will include a 35,000 square foot green roof that will provide open space for residents and space for gardening and to collect and recycle rainwater. The co-op will also include a health education and wellness center administered by Montefiore Medical Center, a health food store and a fitness center.
Income limits for potential purchasers will range up to $102,990 for a family of four. The developers are Via Verde Homes, LLC, whose principals are Jonathan Rose of Jonathan Rose Companies and Adam Weinstein of Phipps Houses.
The total cost of the project is nearly $40.6 million. In addition to the AHC grant and developer and homeowner mortgages and equity, financing includes $1.5 million in Resolution A funds provided by the Bronx Borough President”s Office; $1.79 million in tax credits provided under the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program; $9.23 million in capital funds provided by the NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC); $10.66 million in capital funds provided by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD); $6.16 million in subordinated land provided by HPD; and $261,181 in capital funds provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

[3044Orion]

http://www.nycedc.com/ProjectsOpportunities/CurrentProjects/Bronx/MelroseRetailStudy/Documents/melrose_study.pdf

[BrooklynLove]

But if this thread weren't sticky, it might disappear off the first page and people might forget about it all together! :(

That makes sense to me.

[3044Orion]

Plaza at the Hub the bronx, Melrose Common section of The Bronx site plan

https://www.related.com/articles/NYDailyNews_SouthBronxRetail_7-20-08.pdf

[3044Orion]

New York, NY, August 4, 2009

NEW YORK, NY, August 4th, 2009 – Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber, joined by New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) President Marc Jahr, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Rafael E. Cestero and Neil Weissman of the Jackson Development Group celebrated the groundbreaking of St. Ann’s Terrace, a 600 unit mixed-income development in the Melrose section of the Bronx and the first in the nation to use recycled bonds. In completing financing for St. Ann’s, HDC President Jahr noted that HDC has surpassed its goal of financing the construction or preservation of 42,000 homes under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan. The Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan is a comprehensive strategy to bring New York City through the current economic downturn as fast as possible. It focuses on three major areas: creating jobs for New Yorkers today, implementing a long-term vision for growing the city's economy, and building affordable, attractive neighborhoods in every borough. Taken together, the initiatives we have launched to achieve these goals will generate thousands of jobs and put New York City on a path to economic recovery and growth. Also joining the Deputy Mayor were Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo and Assembly Member Carmen E. Arroyo.

The St. Ann’s Terrace project will redevelop the largest remaining vacant parcel of land in the Melrose Commons Urban renewal Area of the South Bronx. This three-block parcel of vacant land will be transformed into a mixed-income residential community with ground floor retail space and underground parking. The site is bordered by St. Ann’s Avenue, East 156th Street, Eagle Avenue and East 159th Street. There will be approximately 600 residential apartments, 50,000 sq. ft. of ground floor retail and parking spaces for about 400 cars under several of the buildings. Initially, construction will move forward on six buildings and about 186 parking spaces. The total development cost for these first six buildings is more than $169.4 million. An additional 160 units in two more buildings, that will be to the last to begin construction, as well as additional parking, will be announced at a later date. The St. Ann’s Terrace development is a joint venture between the Jackson Development Group and the Joy Construction Corporation. Joy Construction will also serve the General Contractor for the entire Project.

“Creating affordable communities is a critical component of our five borough economic opportunity plan and we are committed to using every innovative tool at our disposal in order to achieve our goal of creating 165,000 affordable units,” said Deputy Mayor Robert C. Lieber. “Once, the South Bronx was a national symbol for urban decay but today we celebrate the rebirth of a neighborhood and the transformation of vacant land into a thriving community at St. Ann’s Terrace. I’d like to commend resident leaders, activists, elected officials and the community board for partnering with the City to create an attractive and affordable community families in the Bronx.”

St. Ann’s Terrace is part of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace plan to build or preserve 165,000 homes for working-class New Yorkers by 2014. HDC’s original promise was to contribute 42,000 units under the plan.

“St. Ann’s also represents the continued resurgence of the Bronx,” said HPD Commissioner Cestero. “Look around, everywhere you will see the work of HPD and HDC and all the partners here today. As our neighborhoods struggle in this economy, this kind of project not only creates jobs and badly needed affordability. But it sends a message to all that we are going forward, our neighborhoods will remain strong and our economy will back on track.

“St. Ann’s Terrace is a meaningful project in so many ways – first, it will contribute 6oo affordable homes to this growing and increasingly vibrant community – second, it is the project that pushed us over the 42,000 unit benchmark and third, it showcases New York City’s ability to work with its Congressional representatives and create new tools that can be used to finance affordable housing, while increasing our ability to do more with existing resources,” said HDC President Marc Jahr. “HDC is leading the nation in creating innovative funding mechanisms to leverage our capital markets, allowing the City to preserve tax credit bond volume cap by recycling tax-exempt multifamily bonds that have been paid off early. The recycled bonds that are being put to work here on this mixed income project are making it possible for us to preserve our tax credit bonding capacity for where we really need it.” HDC has provided $76.8 million in tax-exempt and recycled tax-exempt bonds to fund St. Ann’s construction phase. Approximately $26.3 million will be from Recycled Bonds and $50.5 million will be from Stand Alone Tax-Exempt Bonds. This development captures the essence of our work,” Said Commissioner Cestero. “Not only are we developing much needed affordable housing, but we are contributing to the continuing revitalization of Melrose Commons. With its mix of income levels and its thousands of square feet of ground floor retail, St. Ann’s will help to keep Melrose Commons a vibrant community where New Yorkers continue to be proud to live and work.”

“The St. Ann’s Terrace Project represents one of the largest private/public affordable housing development partnerships in The Bronx,” said Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz Jr. “I am pleased that my office is funding part of it. This project will feature sustainable design features that will save energy and reduce carbon emissions, making the buildings and the surrounding community a healthier place to live. I look forward to welcoming the residents to this village-like project to our borough”.

“We are so proud to be able to work with the City of New York in the redevelopment of a 3.5 acre blighted site into a vibrant mixed income affordable housing community” said Neil Weissman, Principal of Jackson Development Group. “In this difficult financing environment, the ability to move forward with a project like St. Ann’s Terrace is a testament to both the public and private sector’s commitment to affordable housing in the Bronx and in New York City.”

“The construction of St. Ann’s Terrace, a new 480 unit-mixed income development and the first to use recycled bonds represents a continuation of the new renaissance occurring in the buildings of multifamily housing in Bronx Community Board One,” said George L. Rodriguez, Chairperson of Community Board One. “The project will provide access to sustainable affordable housing for residents of all income levels.”

Three of the buildings will house tenants of mixed-incomes: 80% AMI ($61,450 for a family of four) and 60% AMI ($46,080 for a family of four). The 60% units qualify the project for tax-exempt recycled bonds. The project will include 21 studio units, 48 one-bedroom units, 76 two-bedroom units and 19 three-bedroom units and two two-bedroom superintendent’s units. Buildings C, D and E will serve low-income tenants at 60% AMI ($46,080 for a family of four) and 50% AMI ($38,400 for a family of four). In addition, the project will include 51 underground parking spaces and about 11,300-square-feet of commercial space.

Foundation work has begun at the site and will create about 1,803 jobs. St. Ann’s is anticipated to be ready for occupancy in the late summer of 2011.

[ToastyPotato]

I have a question. What, if anything has been going on in Hunts Point? Google Maps view seems a few years out of date, but as of those photos, it still seemed like a waste land. Has anything happened the last few years? Any plans?

[TheInterloafer]

The Parks Department built two beautiful and very popular waterfront parks. Barretto Point Park, at Viele Av. & Tiffany St., which has a swimming pool on a barge docked at it, and Hunts Point Riverside Park, on the eastern stub end of Lafayette Av.

[TheInterloafer]

Here are two photos of the Morris Heights Health Center expansion under construction on August 29, 2009. This building, called Harrison Circle (http://www.mhhc.org/pages/harrison_circle.html), is located at the northeast corner of W. Burnside Av. & Harrison Av., across the street from the existing health center. It replaces a 1-story retail building and a parking lot.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2790/4041130454_1ba003c380_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2555/4041130342_d20eaf0a53_o.jpg

[TheInterloafer]

Does anyone know what this building is? It is a round four-story building that replaces a fairly tall three-story building at the southeast corner of W. Tremont Av. & University Av. This is a construction photo dated August 29, 2009.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2792/4041130224_8e74e7fdf1_o.jpg

[3044Orion]

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://72.51.38.241/~corecode/uploads/photo/uploaded_photos/corecode_aianycfa/209/Magnus%2520Magnusson%25202.jpg&imgrefurl=http://cfa.aiany.org/index.php%3Fsection%3Dspecialalbum2%26albid%3D209&usg=__Q-p-ldq1Wz3IHznZIVBDy48yqg0=&h=540&w=720&sz=220&hl=en&start=304&um=1&tbnid=5cMuizj6WCeqlM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthe%2Borion%2Bbronx%26ndsp%3D21%26hl% 3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start %3D294%26um%3D1

[Derek2k3]

Thanks for posting. It shows the best stuff in the city are usually smaller projects.
And it looks like there still might be a rooftop garden on top of the Times Tower.

[welcome2melrose]

I have lived in Melrose for almost all of my 34 years on this planet
and the community gardens have been MOSTLY an oases for the lack of parks.
All the new developments going on have green spaces that are ExCLUSIVELY for the residents of said buildings (with the exception of Boricua Village which will have open space for the community garden.) to say that all the gardens are eye sores and are full of people drinking and partying is so ignorant and I really wonder what your angle is. If you know ANYTHING about the history of the
"makeshift" houses they are called CASITAS and were created as a small remembrance of how it was decades ago in Puerto Rico when people lived in such homes. These casitas and community garden offer character to the neighborhood which has been lost in the East Village and Spanish Harlem where there once were many such gardens but THANKFULLY here in Melrose we have preserved the majority of them and have the highest concentration of Green Gardens in the entire borough of THE BRONX.

I challenge you to take a walking tour with me of all of our community gardens and i'm sure you will change your thoughts.

[welcome2melrose]

http://welcome-to-melrose.blogspot.com/2009/10/welcome-to-melrose-is-on-front-page-of.html

Thanks to all the readers who have made it the number one spot on the net for all things Melrose!

[welcome2melrose]

http://welcome-to-melrose.blogspot.com/2009/10/exclusive-ribbon-cutting-ceremony-at.html

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will be held at 10:00AM on Tuesday, October 27th.

[3044Orion]

No, I'm not nuts. I must start by saying that i love your blog. I've lived in the Bronx for 45 years. I was here doing the fires and the crime. I live at the Orion, and before that i was on the Grand Concourse for 15 years and before that Intervale Avenue. I remember why community garden were started. They were start do to all the burned down building in the community and all abandoned and vacant building lots. We are in 2009 and we need more affordable housing. I can tell you near every community garden there is a local park or open space, open to the public. I can tell you first hand that the community garden located behind the Orion at 156th Street is very loud and every time i've walked past it, i see people drinking. The music is so loud i can't even open my windows in the summer time. There's a public park right across the street from the community garden that was just redone it's a beautiful park. Great addiction to the community. I'm in favor of community parks. We should all be looking for better quality of life for Melrose and the surrounding areas. The community garden on Elton at 159th St is also loud and full of people drinking in open space. I sure the people who own the house next door or not happy with it. The house right a side from the community garden on Elton street at 159th, has Graffiti writing on it. I believe this is do to the community garden being open to people hanging out and drinking and vandalizing people property. The community garden were also put in place so that people in the community can plant vegetables and flower to beautify the neighborhoods. More affordable house on all the Community garden lots.
"so ignorant and I really wonder what your angle is". My angle is better quality of life for all resident of the community. We really have to change the mind set of what the community was once was and what it can become. People drinking and play loud music is the mind set of the past. I would like to see more public parks for kids to play in. I'm not in favor of community garden were you see people drinking alcohol in public. There is no places for kids to play in community parks.

[welcome2melrose]

Well I do apologize for using the ignorant word but I don't always see what you are talking about. I'm sure it happens and am not downplaying your reality in anyway but I think these gardens need to be preserved as open spaces. We need to have these open spaces between all the buildings and construction that is going on. I do wholeheartedly agree with you that we MUST have more public parks. Case in point...the big empty lot on melrose at 159th street would make a perfect park don't you think? I also have big ideas for a park in the area that
will be a landmark for all to be proud. feel free to email me directly at welcome2melrose@gmail.com because you sound like someone I would definitely like to work with in getting these parks going.

[3044Orion]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2009/10/28/2009-10-28_mighty_green_melrose_building_first_in_bronx_wi th_wind_power.html

[welcome2melrose]

I was present at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the building.

It is the FIRST affordable green building that achieved platinum LEED certification in the entire STATE OF NEW YORK. NYSERDA was there as well as NYC's HPD and 86% of the green construction going up for housing is in the BRONX not in the city but in the ENTIRE STATE OF NEW YORK. The Bronx and Melrose is leading in the city, and state in Green initiatives.

http://welcome-to-melrose.blogspot.com/2009/10/more-info-on-eltonas-ribbon-cutting.html

[3044Orion]

http://www.majoracartergroup.com

http://www.ssbx.org (http://www.ssbx.org/)[/URL]

[3044Orion]

HPD, HDC, Blue Sea Development, And Bronx Borough President Diaz Cut Ribbon At Green,
State-Of-The-Art Affordable Homes In South Bronx

October 28, 2009by New York RealEstateRama

Category: News || Housing & Development |
Bronx, NY - October 27, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Rafael E. Cestero, New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) President Marc Jahr and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. joined Les Bluestone and Avery Seavey of Blue Sea Development Co. for a ribbon cutting ceremony today in the South Bronx to unveil the newly completed Eltona. The development is a five-story, 71,640-square-foot building with 63 rental apartments for families whose incomes are below 60 percent of the area median income ($46,080 for a family of four). This smoke-free, state-of-the-art development incorporates innovative and eco-friendly components such as rooftop energy generating wind turbines. Residents of the Eltona will be participating in research conducted by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine to track the health of families suffering from asthma who live in a “green building.” Also attending the ribbon cutting today were Eltona residents and representatives of New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA), Wildcat Service Corporation and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.
To date, under Mayor Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan (NHMP) to provide affordable housing for 500,000 New Yorkers, HPD and HDC have financed the development or preservation of more than 94,000 units of affordable housing in the five boroughs. Nearly 31,000 units have been financed in the Bronx, with more than 5,500 represented in Community District 1 where the Eltona is located. The creation of affordable housing through the NHMP is a vital component of the City’s Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan to create jobs in communities through the City for New Yorkers today, implement a vision for long-term economic growth and build affordable, attractive neighborhoods throughout the City.
“The Eltona exemplifies HPD’s neighborhood approach to investing in affordable housing,” said HPD Commissioner Cestero. “By applying a local lens to this project we are able to put hardworking families into fantastic new, eco-friendly homes, while simultaneously applying science to quantify how healthier, greener buildings can affect the overall well being of a neighborhood and its residents. From wind turbines to career and life counseling, there is a lot going on at the Eltona, and it is the best of what affordable housing can and should be. I thank Borough President Diaz for his leadership and all of our partners for their commitment to this development and to the people of the South Bronx.”
“For too long the Bronx has shouldered the burden of its burning past, despite the booming level of development now taking place,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. “The opening of the Eltona, developed by Bluesea, is significant for its green design features, which earned it LEED Platinum certification. The Bronx is now leading the State of New York with 86% of all LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Homes certified units. We are proud to be leading the State in the green building field as well as achieving these high standards of sustainability in the context of building affordable housing.”
Located between East 156th and 157th Streets and between Melrose and Elton Avenues, The Eltona is one of the finishing touches in the City of New York’s Melrose Commons Urban Renewal Plan. Melrose Commons is an urban renewal area of approximately 46 contiguous acres located in the center of the South Bronx and shared by Community Districts 1 and 3. The plan created 66 sites with land designated for housing development, as well as commercial and community facility use and open space. It is expected that as many as 3,700 new residential units and approximately 300,000 square feet of commercial space will be built. Since new construction began in 2000, 1,556 new residential units have been completed, 1,166 units in 12 multifamily buildings and 390 units in six small homes developments. An additional 1,271 units are currently under construction in 5 multifamily projects.
The Eltona offers a mix of one, two, and three bedrooms, with resident storage and laundry rooms on each floor, a community room on the ground level and on-site surface parking for 17 cars. The building also contains 6,800-square-feet of landscaped recreation space for residents, and a community garden adjacent to the building has been preserved.
Designed with an eye towards green technology and practices, the Eltona is the first LEED Platinum building in New York State and incorporates many innovative components with the health and well-being of the residents as a critical factor. It is the City’s first residential building with wind turbine generators (ten 1-killowat turbines) mounted on the parapet to generate electricity for the building, and meets NYSERDA’s requirements for ENERGY STAR multifamily buildings and will include ENERGY STAR appliance lighting fixtures, high efficiency boilers and energy efficient fiberglass windows. Low flow fixtures will reduce water usage, and all fixtures will be nontoxic and sustainable. Additionally, all paints, sealants, and adhesives are low VOC, as are carpet tiles which are also recyclable, and low VOC wall coverings which are made from recycled material.
“This development is unique,” said HDC President Marc Jahr. “From the wind turbines that line its roof, to the job services and counseling offered its residents, The Eltona serves the needs of the individual as well as the community. We are particularly excited to have the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine onsite to monitor and record data on the response of asthmatics to this carefully planned environment. I am hopeful that the green and health-conscious features of this affordable housing will be proven, once and for all, to be truly beneficial for the residents.”
DHCR Commissioner Deborah VanAmerongen said “The Eltona, a LEED Silver certified building, sets a new standard for energy-efficient affordable housing in New York State. The development team’s comprehensive approach, utilizing both brownfield clean-up and wind turbines, as well as their participation in scholastic studies on people with asthma living in a green building addresses in a comprehensive way the health, economic and environmental benefits affordable housing like Eltona can bring to communities across the state.”
“We at Blue Sea Development are especially pleased to have produced a building that achieves high levels of energy efficiency and sustainability, but equally important, makes a real effort to provide for our tenants’ well being through a healthy indoor environment and on site career counseling services,” said Blue Sea Development Principal Les Bluestone. “None of this could have been possible without the strong support of our partners the City, State, and people of the Melrose community.”
This section of the South Bronx, which is part of the “Harlem-South Bronx Asthma Corridor,” has one of the highest rates of childhood asthma. Researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine will be conducting a study, which has already started with future tenants; to investigate and quantify the effect of living in a green building may have on respiratory health of asthma sufferers. To this end, indoor air quality at the Eltona is essential for the success of the building and the Mount Sinai study. The building which is 100 percent non-smoking, will have a separate air ventilation system in each apartment in stead of a central air duct system, and all public area make up will be served by HEPA filtered systems.
“We hope to document that living in a platinum certified green home, where all materials, design and construction are inherently aimed at decreasing environmental triggers of asthma, will improve the respiratory health and the quality of life for those families with asthma,” said Elizabeth Garland, MD, MS, Associate Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
“By showing that energy-efficient measures can be incorporated into every facet of a building, the Eltona Apartments represent an important step towards realizing Governor Paterson’s ambitious energy agenda that will reduce our reliance on fossil fuels,” said Francis J. Murray Jr., NYSERDA President and CEO. “I am proud that NYSERDA is supporting a project that will allow the residents of the Eltona to reap the benefits of living in a LEED Platinum building with energy-saving features and lay the groundwork for greater efficiencies in the future.”
Blue Sea Development has also partnered with the New York City based workforce development professionals at Wildcat Service Corporation to provide an on site employment, education, health and other counseling services free of charge for the residents of the Eltona. Since 1972, it has been the goal of Wildcat to provide comprehensive creative workforce development services to undereducated, unemployed, underemployed, low income residents of New York City to assure their self-sufficiency.
“Wildcat Service Corporation is pleased to pilot this unique program with Blue Sea Development that unites career services with affordable housing for the new residents of The Eltona. We will assist the residents with career advisement and planning with an onsite Career Coach. We will utilize one on one coaching as well as workshops, training grants to learn new skills that enhance current employment and prepare for the next career growth opportunity, along with financial and money management counseling. Wildcat Service Corporation is looking forward to creating successful career paths for the residents of The Eltona with the strong partnership we have built with Blue Sea Development,” said Shannon Cantu, Senior Director, Wildcat Services Corporation.
Blue Sea Development Company, LLC is developing the project and its affiliate, Blue Sea Construction Co., LLC is erecting the building with wall panels precast in local factories. Danois Architects is the architect. The $16.5 million dollar project was financed in part through $8.4 million in tax-exempt bonds, which were backed by a letter of credit from the Bank of New York, and $3.4 million in subsidy both from HDC. DHCR awarded a $7 million tax credit allocation, which is being syndicated by the Royal Bank of Canada. DHCR also provided another $2.4 million through the Homes for Working Families program.
The Eltona will be operated and managed by Blue Sea Development during a 15 year tax-credit compliance period, after which a buy-out plan will be offered to residents under which they can acquire the building and their units as a low income cooperative. Blue Sea also developed the first affordable LEED homes in the Bronx, at the nearby Morrisania Homes.

[NoNothing]

http://www.majoracartergroup.com

http://www.ssbx.org (http://www.ssbx.org/)[/URL]

I love what she does for the community! Did you see her in the Black list 2 movie?? She has a lot of powerful things to say.

[Merry]

The greatest real estate turnaround ever

Charlotte Street in New York City's South Bronx was once the epicenter of urban blight. No longer. Now single-family homes line the strip and boats sit in driveways.

By Les Christie

November 9, 2009

Then and now: 'The worst slum in America' (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0911/gallery.charlotte_street/index.html)

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2009/real_estate/0911/gallery.charlotte_street/images/launcher.jpg (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0911/gallery.charlotte_street/index.html)

Charlotte Street in New York City's South Bronx was once world famous for its blight. Now it's a slice of suburbia in the inner city - complete with Beemers and boats.

View photos (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0911/gallery.charlotte_street/index.html)

Hope for homeowners (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0911/gallery.Charlotte_Street_home/index.html)

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2009/real_estate/0911/gallery.Charlotte_Street_home/images/launcher.jpg (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0911/gallery.Charlotte_Street_home/index.html)

Critics thought homeownership would never work in the South Bronx. They were wrong. Tour the one house currently for sale on Charlotte Street.

View photos (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0911/gallery.Charlotte_Street_home/index.html)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Charlotte Street was an apocalyptic nightmare version of urban life.

Weed-choked, junk-filled lots flanked the three-block stretch. Burned out tenement buildings punctuated the sky, and abandoned cars littered the landscape.

The street, like much of the rest of New York City's South Bronx, had fallen to epic lows by the late 1970s. The area had disgorged nearly two-thirds of its population as living conditions declined and arson fires raged. Some landlords, unable to find tenants, torched their properties for insurance money. Other blazes were set by junkies, while still more were set by residents of public housing trying to get moved into nicer apartments.

See photos of the devastation (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0911/gallery.charlotte_street/launch.exclude.html)

"Charlotte Street was burning," says Genevieve Brooks, a former resident. "Every day, I'd see the fires and smell the smoke. I slept with my shoes by my bed at night because you never knew if your building was next."

Just three miles away, at Yankee Stadium, is where Howard Cosell uttered his famous line: "There it is, ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning."
No longer.

In the three decades since Cosell introduced the world to the plight of the Bronx during the 1977 World Series, Charlotte Street has morphed into a haven of single-family ranch houses accented by backyards flourishing with fruit trees and flowers. Boats sit in driveways and above-ground swimming pools are common. It's a slice of suburbia in one the country's most urban -- and poor -- counties.

What happened to the Charlotte Street that President Carter called "the worst slum in America?" Or the Charlotte Street that President Reagan visited during a 1980 campaign swing? The one he compared -- unfavorably -- with London after the Blitz.

One of the greatest real estate turnarounds ever.

"Charlotte Street is thought of as quite a success story, particularly considering its context: It rose, phoenix-like, out of the ashes," says Nicolas Retsinas, director of Harvard's Joint Center for Urban Studies.

Baby steps

One of the primary catalysts was Brooks, who had moved to Charlotte Street from South Carolina in the 1960s, when the neighborhood was racially mixed and thriving. But as the 1970s dawned, she watched the deterioration take hold.

When she asked her landlord about maintaining her building, he dismissed her. "He told me I should move to Queens, or Park Avenue," she remembers. "I could have left. But I was single at the time, no children, so I didn't have as much to lose."

Instead, she knocked on neighbors' doors and asked if they noticed the change. When they said "yes," she formed a tenants association. Then she helped form a block association to lobby the city to pick up trash and abandoned cars, and to crack down on crime.

"We went down to the cellars and bagged tons of garbage, brought it upstairs and got Sanitation to pick it up," she remembered. "The kids were excited about sweeping the streets. I would give them money for snacks. They would ask, 'Miss Brooks can we sweep the street today?'"

Bigger strides

By 1974, tired of the small scale efforts, a host of neighborhood volunteers formed a group they called the Mid-Bronx Desperadoes to lobby for improvements throughout the community.

"There was a tremendous amount of community action," says former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer. "That was the secret ingredient. The community refused to give up. They needed allies. They needed people who took the decline of the South Bronx as personally as they did."

One of those people was urban planner Ed Logue, who was hired in 1978 to run a city agency called the South Bronx Development Office. The city was trying to erase the shame of its worst slums, and to do that Logue knew he would need the assistance of local organizations. The Desperadoes, headed by Brooks, were ready to step into the breach.

Brook's and Logue's vision was to go to the rotted core -- Charlotte Street -- and work outward. But most everyone advised them to rebuild starting from the healthy fringes. They wanted single-family homes; critics wanted density and multi-family dwellings, saying it would promote a lively, safe neighborhood and attract merchants.

"The conventional wisdom was that no one would invest their life savings in such a devastated area," says Julie Sandorf, who worked with the MBD and is now president of the Charles H. Revson Foundation, a New York City-based charity.

Brooks, though, knew most of the families in the area were African Americans from the South, Caribbean blacks and Puerto Ricans, and she was convinced that the long home-owning traditions of these groups would help make a community of single-family homes work.

So she and Logue focused on convincing the Local Initiatives Support Corp., a newly launched nonprofit that had a $10 million grant from the Ford Foundation to assist burgeoning neighborhood revivals.

"There was so much devastation in the Charlotte Street area, it needed a big infusion of dollars," Brooks remembers. "We were in the financial disaster stage."

Convincing skeptics

LISC was indeed interested in assisting in the South Bronx, but the foundation had its doubts about the plan. "People at LISC were skeptical about the notion of doing single-family homes in the South Bronx," says CEO Michael Rubinger. "It was thought to be a crazy idea."

But Logue and Brooks dazzled then-director Anita Miller with a vision of white picket fences. She agreed take a gamble and put up the $125,000 the groups needed to purchase two model homes.

Those first three-bedroom, two-bath ranch homes were manufactured in Pennsylvania and trucked over the George Washington Bridge one night in 1983. Sandorf and her husband were on site waiting for the trucks. The first people they saw was a rough looking street gang -- whom Logue had hired to secure the grounds.

Still, Sandorf says, her husband was a little spooked. "He kept asking, 'Where are all the lights?' I had to tell him all those buildings are abandoned.

There are no lights."

The homes were priced at about $50,000, and they sold like hot cakes. "We got more than 600 applications from potential buyers in the first three weeks," says Sandorf.

Within three years, 92 homes would be built on the street and the area re-christened Charlotte Gardens. About 90% of the buyers were from the Bronx, according to Sandorf; many were low-income.

Homeownership was made possible by discounting the houses: Each property sold for between $50,000 and $59,000 even thought it cost an average of $110,000 to build. The difference was funded through federal dollars, but the City of New York and various foundations also helped subsidize buyers.

"The houses in Charlotte Gardens were very deeply subsidized," says former borough president Ferrer. "But it wasn't just city money: That provided a stimulus for financial institutions who were reluctant to lend. We told the banks they had to get involved, they had to get up here and lend. Some admitted they had to eat crow: They never expected the complex to succeed."

Shining example

But succeed it did. Original buyers invested and stayed; fewer than a dozen homes out of the 92 have ever been sold. Plus, while the rest of the country is being wracked by foreclosures, Charlotte Gardens has lost just one home to the plague.

"The selling of Charlotte Gardens is the extreme opposite story of what happened in the recent real estate debacle," Sandorf says. "It is a shining example of how to do it right. House buyers were carefully selected and vetted. They were subjected to strict credit checks and homeownership counseling."

Property values, too, have soared. Homes that originally went for $50,000 now sell for ten times that -- when one is available. Currently, there is only one for-sale sign on all of Charlotte Street. The owners, who are original, have retired and are moving to Florida. They listed the property for $459,000 (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0911/gallery.Charlotte_Street_home) -- which is still inexpensive by New York standards. Just across the river, in Manhattan, buyers pay that for a studio apartment.

"Sales are so rare that finding comparables to make an accurate appraisal is very hard," says Tina Gordon, the Century 21 real estate agent for the property.

Genevieve Brooks and her husband were one of the few to sell their home. Several years ago, they retired and returned South Carolina, where they have family. But they still come back often to visit friends in Charlotte Gardens.

"We didn't know what we were doing when we started, but we did know we had to do this ourselves," she says.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/09/real_estate/greatest_neighborhood_turnaround/?postversion=2009110903

[NoyokA]

It might have been a success story 20 years ago. Today its a failure, tare it down and build multifamily housing with retail.

[BrooklynLove]

The point of the story is that it's a success story today.

What would you propose? Eminent domain of a thriving community?

[NoyokA]

Did you look at the pictures? They can say its a success story all they want, things were so bad 30 years ago that at that time it was, but putting a rundown Long Island strip of levittown in a vibrant part of New York City, a short walk to the subway and Crotona Park, less than a mile to Manhattan is an urban disaster. No where did I suggest eminent domain. The good thing about these houses is that each single family suburban house is put on a huge by NYC standards plot of land. As vacant land continues to dry up in the Bronx, hopefully when they come up for sale as one is now, a developer will buy the plot and put up as I suggested multifamily housing with retail. Here's one proposed a block away.

http://www.nychdc.com/images/012606%20Louis%20IX%20Elevation%2001.jpg

I suppose lawns of crabgrass, barred windows, and vinyl siding is better though. Its real urban and just right for New York City, I'm sure you'd love to have an enclave of that in Brooklyn.

[antinimby]

It all depends on zoning. People will build (or in this case) rebuild to what is allowed or not allowed by zoning.

If multi-story buildings are allowed, then that is most likely what will replace these one-story suburban homes.

Of course, the folks in this city (including people that run it) aren't the smartest or knowledgable of what is good or bad.

They can one day petition to have zoning changed to prevent multi-story buildings from being built there. In other words, get the city to downzone this area so that all new developments will look like the one-story houses there now.

By the way Noyoka, I agree with you. Those type of one-story houses have no place in the city.

In fact, even many progressive suburbs are moving away from those low density, singular use type of development in favor of higher density, mix use developments.

Of course this city is stupid, so they'll probably do the wrong thing.

[NoyokA]

I just propertysharked the property. The City is retarded and has a .5 FAR limit on this site. Sometimes we get what we deserve. We have an affordable housing problem, so instead of having HPD subsidize a project that creates hundreds of units, we have them subsidize a disgusting out of place and destructive suburban development for a handful of residents as the waiting list continues to grow.

[meesalikeu]

well there is plenty of good company around the country in the city government dimwit department. here's an example:

cleveland had a very similar neighborhood to the bronx's old charlotte st on it's eastside called little hollywood in hough. it was full of blocks of apt buildings like those, but they tore them out after the terrible 1968 mlk rioting. it was all rubble lots for a long while, but since then its been rebuilt as suburban style homes setback from the street -- compete with front yards!

of course today the cleve's population has dropped to half its 1968 level, so its more of an anti-urban aesthetic problem there, unlike the growing bronx population. anyway, just goes to show ya that zoning idiocy is alive and well elsewhere too.

[ToastyPotato]

The Concourse Plaza has blocked off a section of the surface level parking lot and has begun doing some work on it. The portion blocked is the exact one mentioned earlier where a new office tower would be placed.

Edit: Nope, they were just painting the whole thing gray...

[TheInterloafer]

Ah-ha. I was wondering what they were doing there.

[3044Orion]

The developers were chosen through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP). Phipps Houses Group was selected to build approximately 216 units of lower-income housing for Site A, Blue Sea Development and WHEDCo were chosen to build approximately 290 mixed-income units on Site B, and the team of CPC Resources, The Briarwood Organization and The Bridge will develop RFP Site C with a total of appropriately 257 units of affordable housing.

The three sites included in the Melrose Commons North RFP, which total approximately 127,000-square-feet, are located between East 161 Street and East 163 Street, between Courtlandt, Melrose and Eltona Avenues in the South Bronx. They represent the last remaining large developable residential sites within the Melrose URA and together will add approximately 770 units to the 2,743 units already built or currently in construction within the Melrose Commons URA.

“Anyone who comes to the South Bronx can see the bricks and mortar evidence of our serious, ongoing commitment to the rebirth of this community and to the families who are most in need of quality affordable housing. With the development of the Melrose Commons North sites we are moving to complete the transformation of this area of the South Bronx and creating a thriving neighborhood of new affordable and mixed-income housing, new commercial enterprise, and new opportunities,” said HPD Commissioner Rafael E. Cestero. “Phipps, WHEDCo, Blue Sea, CPC, Briarwood and The Bridge can rightfully claim to have played a critical role as our partners in developing affordable housing on various sites in this and other neighborhoods across the city. These development teams have a solid track record of building sustainable, affordable housing. I look forward to working with them as we lay the cornerstones that will complete the renaissance of this formerly infamous neighborhood. I thank Enterprise for providing the funding to help us build healthier, greener homes, and all of our elected officials for their support and leadership.”

The Melrose Commons North RFP designations move the City closer to fulfilling the goals of Mayor Bloomberg’s $7.5 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan (NHMP) to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing; the largest municipal affordable housing initiative in the nation. In the Bronx alone, the City has funded more than 35,400 units and completed more than 28,400 units of affordable housing since 2002. In accordance with the NHMP, the Melrose Commons North development projects leverage re-zonings to transform underutilized land into sustainable, energy-efficient neighborhoods that residents, local business and community groups can call home. Building affordable housing in neighborhoods across New York City is a central component of the Bloomberg Administration’s Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan to create jobs for New Yorkers today, implement a vision for long-term economic growth and build affordable, attractive neighborhoods.

Each of the Melrose Commons North proposals include commercial and/or community facility space, including a 10,000-square-foot early childhood education center in Site A, as well as environmentally friendly and aesthetically innovative design features. A majority of the affordable housing will be available to families earning at or below 60% Area Median Income (AMI) or what is equal to an annual income of $46,100 for a family of four. The designated development teams were selected based on an evaluation of the financial feasibility of the proposal, affordability of residential units, quality of architectural design, development and management experience and capacity—including green development experience—as well as other factors noted in the RFP. Electronic versions of the RFP are available on HPD's website here.

The developments in the Melrose Commons URA are a component of the South Bronx Initiative, Mayor Bloomberg’s comprehensive plan to sustain and strengthen the ongoing revitalization of the area by encouraging not only the development of these sites but also the expanded and balanced retail community which will accompany them. Progress has been achieved through coordinated efforts among City agencies and the Bronx Borough President’s office, Congressman José E. Serrano, New York City Council members Helen Foster and Maria del Carmen Arroyo and Bronx Community Board Three to continue to establish Melrose Commons as a mixed-income and balanced retail community. The RFP, a product of their shared vision, advances the goals of generating mixed-income housing, attractive retail districts and public spaces for South Bronx residents. Additionally, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. will be committing a total of $225,000 in grant funding ($75,000 per site) for the implementation of their Green Communities initiatives to help the developers build homes that are healthier, more energy efficient and better for the environment - without compromising affordability.

“The construction of these new affordable housing units is going to be another huge step forward for the Melrose community and for Bronx families looking for housing options,” said Congressman José E. Serrano. “I am glad to hear that so many of the mixed-use features that the community needs will be part of the finished buildings. I applaud all involved for their commitment to this vision and to building affordable housing options in the Bronx.”

“These developers have the great responsibility to build quality affordable housing for our residents. Housing is a major issue in New York and the Bronx, and I am proud to say that, thanks to projects like the Melrose Commons North, The Bronx is leading the way in providing housing opportunities for people of all incomes in our borough,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

“This development is a welcomed addition to our community. From its inception the City and the developers worked together with the community board, and local elected officials to determine what was not only needed, but also wanted in the community. The much needed community space for child care was one of the benefits of that collaboration. We look forward to the economic revitalization of the area as a result of this mixed income development,” said Council Member Helen D. Foster.

"Bronx Community Board Three welcomes the announcement by Commissioner Cestero of the development teams for the Melrose Commons North RFP sites. This serves as the catalyst for the development of the last three remaining ‘frontiers’ within the Melrose Commons North neighborhood area of Bronx Community District Three, whose heyday after nearly 25 years, is once again just around the corner. We commend the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development as well as our state and federal partners, for their commitment to the Bronx success story," said John W. Dudley, District Manager of Bronx Community Board Three.

“Enterprise is committed to making sure that every New Yorker has a place to call home, and by providing a $225,000 Green Communities grant we will ensure that the future residents of Melrose Commons North will have an environmentally responsible, energy efficient, and healthy home. Our support of Melrose North is in line with out our recent launch of the next generation of Enterprise Green Communities, where we committed to help create or preserve 10,000 units of green affordable housing in New York over the next 5 years,” said Abby Jo Sigal, Vice President and New York City Director, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. “Since 2004, Enterprise has worked with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development to create 4,000 green affordable homes in New York and invested $250,000,000 in healthier, more sustainable communities.”

Melrose Commons North – RFP Site A

The Phipps Houses Group, will build approximately 216 units of lower-income housing within two buildings on RFP Site A, along with the early childhood center sponsored by The City Administration for Childhood Services (ACS). The architect for this project is Richard Dattner Associates.

Melrose Commons North – RFP Site B

Blue Sea Development and WHEDCO’s proposal is for the development of approximately 290 mixed-income units within 3 buildings on RFP Site B, along with approximately 54,000 square feet of commercial and/or community facility space. This proposed development, whose theme is “The House that Jazz Built”, will seek to include among its residents, retired musicians. The architect for this project is Rogers Marvel.

Melrose Commons North – RFP Site C

The team of CPC Resources, The Briarwood Organization and The Bridge will develop RFP Site C with 3 buildings with a total of approximately 257 units along with approximately 27,500 square feet of commercial space. This development will target a variety of populations. The architect for this project is Magnusson Architecture and Planning.

Other significant development within Melrose Commons includes the 699-unit Boricua Village with its 14-story building for Boricua College in construction directly across Elton Avenue from two of these RFP sites, and The Orion and The Aurora, recently completed condominium elevator apartment buildings, the first in the South Bronx in more than 40 years. Other major projects near Melrose Commons include St. Ann’s Terrace with six buildings and 418 units currently in construction and Via Verde, a 221-unit mixed rental and cooperative development which was the winning proposal in the high-profile design competition co-sponsored by HPD with the NYC chapter of the American Institute of Architects and which will soon be starting construction.

New York City’s Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan

The Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan is a comprehensive strategy to bring New York City through the current economic downturn as fast as possible. It focuses on three major areas: creating jobs for New Yorkers today, implementing a long-term vision for growing the city's economy, and building affordable, attractive neighborhoods in every borough. Taken together, the initiatives that the City has launched to achieve these goals will generate thousands of jobs and put New York City on a path to economic recovery and growth.

The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)

HPD’s mission is to promote quality housing and viable neighborhoods for New Yorkers. It is the nation's largest municipal housing preservation and development agency. Responsible for implementing Mayor Bloomberg's New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing, HPD also actively promotes the preservation of affordable housing through education, outreach, loan programs and enforcement of housing quality standards.

[Merry]

Developers ink big Bronx housing deal

Briarwood Organization, CPC Resources and The Bridge were tapped by the city to develop a $90 million affordable housing project on portion of 5.5 acres in the South Bronx.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/storyimage/CN/20091229/FREE/912299988/BronxMelrose2.jpg?ref=AR&MaxW=800

One of the last remaining large tracts of city-owned land in the South Bronx has been slated for development as affordable housing.

Briarwood Organization, a Queens-based developer, announced that it and two partners will create low-to-moderate income apartments on one of the three remaining sites in the Melrose Commons North Urban Renewal Area. It is one of three groups of firms the city recently selected to create 770 affordable housing units in the neighborhood, which during the 1970s became widely known for abandonment and arson.

The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development issued a request for proposals for the sites in late 2008.

“The mix of affordable residential units and commercial was highly appealing to us,” said James Riso, principal of Briarwood, noting that other neighborhood developments such as Boricua Village will create huge demand for retail. “Although the residential components will bring Briarwood a modest profit, we identified incredible long-term value in the retail space we will retain.”

Briarwood, along with CPC Resources and The Bridge, will build and develop 260 units of affordable housing and 27,500 square feet of retail space on the site. The project, which is designed for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification, is estimated to cost $90 million, and the developers are considering a variety of financing options, Mr. Riso said.

“In this economic climate, securing construction financing is always a challenge,” he added.

Separately, the city recently chose Phipps House Group to build about 216 affordable housing units and the team of Blue Sea Development and WHEDCo to build 290 units at the two other sites at Melrose Commons North URA. The three sites are located on 5.5 acres of land between East 161st Street and East 163rd Street, bounded by Courtlandt, Melrose and Ettona avenues.

The development of Melrose Commons North URA is part of the city's South Bronx initiative to revitalize the entire area. So far, 2,743 affordable housing units have been built or are currently under construction in the Melrose Commons URA, according to the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

“We've witnessed tremendous growth in the South Bronx,” Mr. Riso said. “We're thrilled to be part of the transformation of Melrose.”

The Melrose Commons North development is also part of the city's ambitious plan to create or rehabilitate 165,000 apartments by 2014. Earlier this month, the housing preservation department said it would likely hit the 100,000 milestone by the end of this year.

“With the development of the Melrose Commons North sites we are moving to complete the transformation of this area of the South Bronx and creating a thriving neighborhood of new affordable and mixed-income housing, new commercial enterprise, and new opportunities,” said Rafael Cestero, the city's Housing Preservation and Development commissioner, in a statement.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20091229/FREE/912299988

[ToastyPotato]

Are the demolishing stuff on that block to make room for that because the empty portion of the block seems too small for that development?

[ToastyPotato]

Here be a visual update of things:

Courtlandt Corners final building going up at last:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/KarnX/102_1990.jpg

The other 3 buildings are starting to finish up:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/KarnX/102_19891.jpg


Boricua Village and College finishing up, though you can see a tall unfinished building in the rear:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/KarnX/102_1991.jpg

Some still vacant/abandoned spaces:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/KarnX/102_1993.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/KarnX/102_1992.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/KarnX/102_1994.jpg

General overview of the area:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/KarnX/102_1996.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/KarnX/102_1995.jpg

Images were too big, didn't want to resize them forcefully as the quality is already low, and couldn't figure out thumbnailing on photobucket, so links it is! :(

[TheInterloafer]

Thanks Toasty! Great pix!!

[Merry]

A new Bronx tale: Rezonings, cultural institutions drive growth in this boro stronghold

BY Jason Sheftell

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/02/26/alg_home2.jpg
Addeo & Sons Italian Bakery in the Bronx

Not many New Yorkers would call an area of the Bronx packed with people, national retail, city buses, slightly decaying housing stock and a booming commercial infrastructure precious. To some, though, that’s exactly what the neighborhoods around East Fordham Road, Fordham University,
and Arthur Ave. have become.

For years, these areas have been safeguarded by local institutions, small-business owners, community activists and old and new school real estate developers who all have a stake in ensuring the area stays affordable, accessible and vibrant.

Until a month ago, you could even buy an egg cream at a local candy store on 187th St. with an old-fashioned counter out of the 1940s. A bagel store catering to local Fordham University just took its place. The zoning currently in place along Third Ave. and Webster Ave. is outdated, reflecting a time when the elevated L train traveled here.

Times are changing, or have dramatically changed. Those neighborhoods are actively seeking a balanced approach to growth, encouraging a mix of uses along wide streets and limiting growth with contextual zoning in more auto-dependent areas. The goal is to focus growth along major thoroughfares such as East Fordham Road, Webster Ave. and East Tremont Ave.

“Communities all over the Bronx have been supportinve of encouraging reinvestment especially near transit and in fostering lively, attractive corridors that better the serve the adjacent neighborhoods,” says Ryan Singer, the deputy director of the Bronx Office for the Department of City Planning. “A variety of neighborhood stakeholders such as community boards and local institutions want to see good things happen here. The streets are wide. There is great transit access, and the communities want growth in appropriate areas.”

With three Metro North station stops all in the area, it has become a fast commuting hub to Manhattan, reachable in 17 minutes, and an easy reverse commute to White Plains, Greenwich and Stamford, Conn.

What does this mean to the small neighborhoods amidst these large thoroughfares?

Continued growth and a better future — but it will still have to be managed, like it has been for the past 30 years.

One of those managers is Joseph Cicciu. Whether you call him the unofficial mayor of Belmont, local real estate developer or community leader, Cicciu runs the Belmont Arthur Avenue Local Development Corporation. Calling the area the “cultural treasure of the Bronx” because of the its proximity to the Bronx Zoo, Fordham University and the Botanical Garden, Cicciu has been working for decades with the city’s Department of Housing Urban Development to provide affordable housing for newcomers and old-timers, many of whom settled the Arthur Ave. “Little Italy” area in the 1920s.

“People look at what’s happening around here as a comeback, but it’s not that at all,” says Cicciu, whose Web site belmontarthurldc.com lists affordable apartment vacancies in the neighborhood. “It’s hard work over a long period of time that has kept the community intact and the small-business owners here. We kept the second-generation families here working, and now they want to come back to live. That says something.”

Most of the housing in the area are rentals, with three-bedroom apartments renting for $1,540. Students attending Fordham University are prominent renters, with new Hispanic families who have populated the area in the last few years also prevalent.

Maria Perez, 52, just moved to the neighborhood from Harlem. She works in Westchester at a nursery school, taking Metro North to work every morning toward 6. She found her two-bedroom apartment through a friend who lives in the same pre-war walkup building on Hughes Ave. Fordham University, a TD Bank that replaced a car dealership and a new yoga center are in eyesight of her front steps.

“I wanted somewhere very safe where I wouldn’t see any drugs,” she says. “I wake up at 5 in the morning and I don’t want to see that on my way to work — or ever. This area is quiet.”

Cicciu, who said one of the main struggles was maintaining a balance of old and new residents, says gentrification of the commercial corridors could help the neighborhood’s long-term residential appeal.

“This is not gentrification like Park Slope or the upper West Side,” says Cicciu, 58, who was born and raised in the neighborhood. “We’re turning a corner, but we will not sacrifice affordable housing. We have worked hard to get people to shop here, first, and then to live here. We want to keep that mix of people. That’s what makes a great community, and we have one.”

On the streets around East Fordham Road, the Gap is busy on a Friday afternoon. The streets are so crowded, it feels like you’re slam dancing at a rock concert. Webster Ave. heading north has pre-war buildings leading to Third Ave. The street is so wide, it could fit four rows of cars. Fordham University, closed to the public but open for athletic and cultural events, is a constant beacon of education and culture. The BX12 Select express bus that caused controversy because it prevented parking for hours during the day, speeds by.

On the side streets near Lorillard Place (named for the tobacco company that owned this land years back), single-family houses of various colors and styles appear as vestiges of grander times. In the past year, their value has halved, dropping from the mid- $400,000 range to $200,000. Italian families live in most of these homes, in slight disrepair but still attractive and well-built. Others are inhabited by local Albanian land owners, recent to the neighborhood.

Doreen Maggio was walking to pick up her daughter at Jonas Brock, a new middle school near Fordham Plaza in an old Sears building being redeveloped as a commercial and retail space. She has lived in the neighborhood all her life, too.

“It has its goods and bads here,” she says. “They rebuilt a park last year and already it’s destroyed with graffiti.”

One block down from Arthur Avenue Retail Food Market, Addeo Bakery has served and sold fresh-baked bread on Hughes Ave. or near there for 80-plus years. The two-story building has an apartment upstairs, where the family grandmother lived most of her life. Her grandson, Laurence Addeo, who runs the bakery now, still cooks lunches on her 1950s stove. Addeo bakes the bread daily, selling the famous Siro Campagna loaf for $4.95 each.

“Each block around here was a little village,” says Addeo. “In some ways, it’s not that different now. This neighborhood was written off so many times, but it stays strong even with the mix of newcomers.

“Where else in New York can you find three butcher shops, five bakeries and a dozen pastry shops within three blocks?” he asks. “This is the last of its kind and it’s still here. A yoga place moved in recently. I’m not making any predictions and I know it’s a stretch, but maybe this has
a chance of becoming a new Williamsburg?”

While that may be a stretch, the rezonings will bring higher commercial corridors and mixed-use residential projects that could make this cultural Bronx neighborhood a popular place to live for doctors, educators and commuters taking advantage of low real estate prices and employment at growing local institutions such as the Albert Einstein Medical Center.

“If we grow this area correctly, it could become the heartbeat, focal point and headquarters for the entire Bronx,” says Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., whose office has been focusing on the economic matters impacting the area. “It’s already key for education, higher medicine and culture. Eventually, I want a real hotel to go there, and for this to become a place for people to live, visit and stay, a place from which they can reach all of the Bronx’s great offerings.”


http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2010/02/26/2010-02-26_a_new_bronx_tale_rezonings_cultural_institution s_drive_growth_in_this_boro_stron.html#ixzz0guIiYC rW

[welcome2melrose]

A portion of the Grand Concourse has been proposed for Landmark designation to become a Historic District. MEETING THURSDAY, MARCH 11TH AT THE BRONX MUSEUM @ 6PM - http://welcome-to-melrose.blogspot.com/2010/03/proposed-grand-concourse-historic.html

[ASchwarz]

It would be a terrible idea to make the Grand Concourse a Landmark district.

Just when the Concourse was revitalizing, the Landmark laws would thwart future development and renovations of existing buildings.

[Fabrizio]

It would be the worst thing to happen.

It would ensure that the Grand Concourse will remain rundown, depressed and undesirable just like all of those other Landmark Districts in NYC: in West Chelsea, the Soho-cast iron, Tribeca, Turtle Bay Gardens, the Upper East Side, the Ladies' Mile, Carnegie Hill, Greenwich Village....

[TheInterloafer]

LOL Fabrizio.

Whoa, this is huge news. I own a co-op in one of the buildings that would be affected. I welcome the designation. The dumpy part of the Concourse, south of Hostos, was or is being upzoned so it could be built up with good sized, modern buildings. It's excluded from the district.

I can't think of any buildings in the footprint that I'd like to see replaced. Actually, come to think of it, I'm not sure that any even are threatened. From a development perspective, I have trouble seeing why they ever would be. They're large, sturdy, fully occupied and well-maintained (structurally sound) buildings. Small building in New York get demolished to make way for bigger ones on consolidated lots. The buildings here are not the kind of structures that get demolished to make way for bigger new buildings.

But at any rate if they want to add a historic district here just to make it official, they should. The rezoned area plus the historic district would work nicely together and reinforce one another.

[welcome2melrose]

I welcome you to explain how buildings will remain run down. This is the EXACT time it needs to be done to preserve what is there right now. Fabrizio you are correct. The area from 149th street all the way to the river has been rezoned and along the river front the lots have been zoned for 24-40 story buildings as well as created 2 "loft districts" which will now turn the more than 75% empty warehouses into residential dwellings.

I have yet to see an area that remains rundown...west chelsea? booming. Upper East Side? Booming. The only thing negative is for slum lords who would rather see some buildings decay because they are to cheap and lazy to take care of their buildings than to maintain them so before we lose these buildings we need to preserve them. The history of the Grand Concourse is a long and rich one of 100 years which needs to be preserved. The Concourse contains the largest concentration of art deco buildings in the country and the world.

[welcome2melrose]

A Schwartz...a landmark designation guarantees that a building will have to be taken care of not the opposite.

[Fabrizio]

Landmarking this area is long over due... it will create a buzz heard around the world as happened with the Miami art-deco district. Furthermore: the most expensive addresses in the US are with-in landmarked districts or districts with tightly controlled zoning. It is not a matter of opinion. It is fact.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Some property owners are afraid of district designation, a fear brought on by the sense of losing control of your own home. Increased taxes, the cost of repairs, and gentrification are brought up as opposition.

But these fears ignore facts.

A proposal in its early stages, to extend the Carroll Gardens district, has the neighborhood split. The historic district (http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/maps/carroll_gardens.pdf) is very small, a token representation of a much larger neighborhood of equal value. It was designated in 1973, when the LPC was new and the concept was under siege.

Property taxes are no different inside and outside the district, and the feared gentrification has been happening throughout the neighborhood without designation. The neighborhood went into decline when jobs at the Erie Basin disappeared. In later years, people moved in because of the way it looked. Others moved in who liked the neighborhood, but didn't care what the building looked like. Put in a designer kitchen with granite counter tops, and you can build a cheap, ugly, out of character multi-dwelling unit. People with money will buy. That's what's been popping up around the neighborhood.

Put up enough of these, and the look of the neighborhood changes, and what made it attractive in the first place disappears. Property value decreases. That's what long-time residents should fear.

[ablarc]

The Concourse contains the largest concentration of art deco buildings in the country and the world.
Miami Beach? Tel Aviv?

[3044Orion]

Construction workers are starting to work on the Via Verde apartments on 156th Street Brook Avenue

The buildings in the 202-unit development—low-rise town homes, a mid-rise duplex building, and an 18-story tower—are connected by rooftops that will be used to harvest rainwater, grow fruits and vegetables and to provide exercise and relaxation space for residents. "We didn't want to build conventional housing and then make it green through some technological overlay," Freitag says. "We wanted to have the greenness grow out of the architecture. We oriented the complex so that the height of the buildings steps up from south to north, bathing the entire site in sunlight. That stepped form became the origin for the series of green roofs that also recapture the landscape lost by constructing the buildings."

Via Verde, whose name means "The Green Way

The mixed-use project serves a range of income levels by providing 151 rental apartments available for low-income households and 71 co-ops for middle-income households. The diversity of unit layouts includes simplexes, innovative duplex units, and live-work units with a first floor ‘work’ space.

Via Verde’s stepped form is inspired by the integration of nature and city. At the heart of the project is a dynamic garden that serves as the organizing architectural element and spiritual identity for the community. The connected green rooftops of low-rise town homes, a mid-rise duplex building, and a 20-story tower will be used to harvest rainwater, grow fruits and vegetables, and provide open space for residents. Other amenities that contribute to the project’s theme of healthy living include open air courtyards, a health education and wellness center operated by Montefiore Medical Center, healthy food oriented retail space, a fitness center, and bicycle storage areas.

[ToastyPotato]

So, uh.. I am 50% sure that the roof of this former Glass Turning factory caved in at some point between Friday and Sunday afternoon. No construction vehicles in sight, and the weather was HORRENDOUS.


Before (Last Month)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/KarnX/Oldroof.jpg

After (Today)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/KarnX/NewRoof.jpg

[ToastyPotato]

In my haste and confusion, I suppose I left out my comment.

I guess this means this building will be coming down sooner than later. I don't recall it ever mentioned in the plans for future development in the area, and I do remember seeing a very specific truck seemingly loading and or unloading something in that driveway over the years. It's a pretty big spot to work with, though it is across the street from a make shift garbage dump.

[welcome2melrose]

Congratulations to the Melrose Commons section of Melrose in The Bronx! It is the FIRST and ONLY neighborhood in all of New York STATE to receive State II Silver LEED Certification as being a GREEN NEIGHBORHOOD!!!! Onward and Upwards!

http://welcome-to-melrose.blogspot.com/2010/03/melrose-receives-first-and-only-stage.html

[Merry]

Historic area may get landmark designation

Move over Fieldston.

Next month Community Board 8 may start making way for another historic district: the Fort Independence Park neighborhood.

At a May 6 Land Use Committee meeting, representatives from the Fort Independence Park Neighborhood Association showed the board, and about 20 attendees, a presentation outlining the history of their neighborhood and why they felt the district, like Fieldston before it, is worthy of landmark designation by the city. The designation would preserve the historic character of the neighborhood by limiting development and construction projects.

“We don’t intend for this to stop development, but we hope it encourages responsible development,” said Kristin Hart, secretary of FIPNA and one of the presenters at the meeting. “We think this area deserves that.”

There have been three recent attempts to designate the area as a historic district, beginning in 1997. The history of the neighborhood dates back to the days of the Revolutionary War, when streets named Cannon and Ft. Independence referred to real cannons and a fort.

The neighborhood they are seeking to designate as a landmark is an apostrophe-shaped residential area that straddles the communities known as Kingsbridge Heights and Van Cortlandt Village. It extends from Sedgwick Avenue in the east to Fort Independence Street in the west, with the curved end of Heath Avenue bounding it to the south and Orloff Avenue in the upper west and curving around to the northern end.

According to a 1916 letter to the editor in the New York Times, a plaque dedicated that year read, “Fort Independence Park, Kingsbridge, and the heights adjacent, of the utmost importance to the communication between New York and the mainland, and to the security of the Hudson, were reconnoitered by Washington on horseback about June 16, 1776. By the direction of the Commander In Chief … an advance work, subsequently called Fort Independence, was built beyond it on this spot.”

Ms. Hart said she is working so hard on this issue because of the way she felt when she first found out the neighborhood’s history. She was attending a Revolutionary War reenactment at Fort Washington, N.Y., with her 7-yearold son, a “history fanatic,” when she learned that she was living so close to a military outpost of that war.

“It sent chills down my spine,” she said. “It was literally in my backyard.”

If the board approves the district’s new designation, they will send their decision on to the city’s Landmarks Commission for consideration, he said.

“My guess is yes” for approval by the board, Charles Moerdler, chair of the Land Use Committee, said. “There was generally a favorable outlook.”

There has been some criticism by those who have said that the landmarking effort is the result of a proposal by a group called Urban Pathways to build a supportive-housing facility on Cannon Place.

But the neighborhood has been mentioned as a potential landmark since the mid-1910s, Mr. Moerdler said, adding that the best way for the board to consider the proposal this time around is in a historical context, and not as a result of the unpopular proposal.
“I want to separate this discussion from anything related to Urban Pathways, because if that is the case I think they will find a paucity of support from the board,” Mr. Moerdler said. “This is a separate issue, and it should be kept that way.”

Now FIPNA has a month to gauge community support before a board vote at the June Land Use meeting, Ms. Hart said.

The community meeting to discuss the landmark process for the neighborhood will take place Wednesday, May 19, in the Kingsbridge Heights Rehabilitation Center, at 3400 Cannon Place, at 7:30 p.m. Residents can also post opinions about the proposal on the group’s website, www.fipna.org (http://www.fipna.org/).

http://www.riverdalepress.com/atf.php?sid=12352&current_edition=2010-05-13

[ToastyPotato]

So there is a pretty large building going up at the Willis Ave. Bridge, what's that about? Also, in the same area, the Major Deegan is getting a major face lift?

[TheInterloafer]

That is "Bruckner by the Bridge (http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=bruckner+by+the+Bridge)," a 419-unit affordable housing complex being financed by the NYC Housing Development Corp. and built by Atlantic Development. I haven't been able to find a rendering online. Snap a pic next time you're over there.

The NYC Dept. of Transportation is rebuilding the Willis Avenue Bridge right now, so I think that might account for the road work you're noticing. Once they are done with that, NYC DOT is going to extend the East River / Harlem River Greenway that currently ends at 120th Street all the way up to 145th Street.

[3044Orion]

Rafael Cestero, Commissioner, NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development
Tim Marx, Executive Director, Common Ground and Rosanne Haggerty, Founder & President, Common Ground

[Merry]

A Hub-bub in the Bronx


Matt Chaban

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4750796089_0e49cf9bbc.jpg
The city wants to turn the two lots bisected by the subway into a new
mixed-use commercial center—a hub for the Hub.

Of all five boroughs, the Bronx arguably fell the furthest during New York City’s 1970s collapse (the decade that saw the infamous burning) while it has not seen nearly the revival of Brooklyn or Queens in recent years. There’s the new Yankees Stadium, and the Grand Concourse remains (http://archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=4119) resurgent (http://archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=3739), but there is still much to be done. The city’s Economic Development Corporation is hoping to nudge things along just a bit east at the Hub, an architecturally and historically rich area (http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/hub/hub.html) centered around the intersection of 149th Street, Third Avenue, and Melrose Avenue. On two lots covering 112,000 square feet where the 2/5 Trains shoot out of the ground, the city is hoping to create a new mixed-use retail center that can anchor the area’s continued redevelopment.

An RFP (http://www.nycedc.com/ProjectsOpportunities/RFPsRFQsRFEIs/Pages/RFPDownload.aspx?guid=bc814af9-9245-4781-af7f-89d11273687a&frmID=RFP&RFPGUID=801db24c-6e44-420b-bd9a-dc72722b439f) for the project released last week is rather vague, though it notes the appeal of the location and the 200,000 daily pedestrians. Among the desired uses are a school, shopping, and a grocery store, as the project is located within the FRESH program (http://archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=3479) boundaries. Zoning changes would most likely be in order, as half the site is manufacturing, half is commercial, the former with not very high densities. The RFP also urges for LEED Silver, an admirable cause as sustainability is often a second thought around these parts, as is public space, which is why the city is also mandating a plaza at the corner of 149th Street and Third Avenue. Proposals are due September 22.

http://blog.archpaper.com/wordpress/archives/8131

[ToastyPotato]

Google maps has been updated so you can really see many of the new developments. I kind of wish I had the presence of mind to save images of the old shots for a before and after.

[JSsocal]

Fear not toasty potato... Follow this link===> http://gis.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap/

Then hit the camera icon, and slide along the timeline to see images from New York in 2006, or 1924, 1951, or 1996 for that matter.

[ToastyPotato]

This is incredible. Now if only we had a time machine to get some Google street view photos! ;)

[Merry]

Regarding the Boricua Village mentioned in posts #159 (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5081&p=275316&viewfull=1#post275316), #235 (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5081&p=292096&viewfull=1#post292096), 240 (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5081&p=292589&viewfull=1#post292589), etc., there's also a dedicated thread (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23558&highlight=Boricua).

Meanwhile, on Pelham Parkway:


City To Cut Down 87 Trees for Pelham Parkway Project

Bronx residents are up in arms over a $36 million road improvement project that would require 87 mature trees to be cut down. Officials say the trees roots extend underneath a portion of road that needs to be repaved, and pose a safety hazard. But Baychester resident Joan Ribosh told WCBS, "I feel bad. They’ve been here so long. I lived here in the 50s and 60s, and all the trees are still here.” Thankfully, Regis Philbin is on the scene.

The Bronx native bashed the project on "Live with Regis and Kelly," saying, "Isn't that a shame? Eighty-seven trees...Why in the world would they have to remove 87 beautiful mature, lovely trees that have been there for years, and all of my life. And it's going to cost the city—us—$36 million?" David Varenne of the Pelham Parkway Preservation Alliance thinks there's some borough-ism going on in the city's decision, saying, "If this were Central Park South, or Fifth Avenue, or Greenwich Street, they would do whatever it took [to keep them]. But because it’s the Bronx, they feel they can come in here and just slice them down."

Opponents have collected over 1,000 signatures against the project, which is scheduled to start in the fall. But community board member John Fratta said, “It’s a very dangerous roadway - there are so many accidents. The trees are right against the roadway." In the first six months of 2009, there were 185 accidents on the road. And though Regis is a great spokesman, Matthew Monahan of the Department of Design and Construction said, "it later appeared he was not fully briefed on the plan. Public safety is the city's absolute top priority here." There's already a Facebook group created to save the Pelham Parkway trees.

http://gothamist.com/2010/08/14/city_wants_to_cut_down_87_trees_for.php

[3044Orion]

[QUOTE=Merry;329709]A Hub-bub in the Bronx


Matt Chaban

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4750796089_0e49cf9bbc.jpg
The city wants to turn the two lots bisected by the subway into a new
mixed-use commercial center—a hub for the Hub.

Of all five boroughs, the Bronx arguably fell the furthest during New York City’s 1970s collapse (the decade that saw the infamous burning) while it has not seen nearly the revival of Brooklyn or Queens in recent years. There’s the new Yankees Stadium, and the Grand Concourse remains (http://archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=4119) resurgent (http://archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=3739), but there is still much to be done. The city’s Economic Development Corporation is hoping to nudge things along just a bit east at the Hub, an architecturally and historically rich area (http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/hub/hub.html) centered around the intersection of 149th Street, Third Avenue, and Melrose Avenue. On two lots covering 112,000 square feet where the 2/5 Trains shoot out of the ground, the city is hoping to create a new mixed-use retail center that can anchor the area’s continued redevelopment.

An RFP (http://www.nycedc.com/ProjectsOpportunities/RFPsRFQsRFEIs/Pages/RFPDownload.aspx?guid=bc814af9-9245-4781-af7f-89d11273687a&frmID=RFP&RFPGUID=801db24c-6e44-420b-bd9a-dc72722b439f) for the project released last week is rather vague, though it notes the appeal of the location and the 200,000 daily pedestrians. Among the desired uses are a school, shopping, and a grocery store, as the project is located within the FRESH program (http://archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=3479) boundaries. Zoning changes would most likely be in order, as half the site is manufacturing, half is commercial, the former with not very high densities. The RFP also urges for LEED Silver, an admirable cause as sustainability is often a second thought around these parts, as is public space, which is why the city is also mandating a plaza at the corner of 149th Street and Third Avenue. Proposals are due September 22.

[Timbuktu]

87 trees? man that seems "drastic"

[antinimby]

Do I see hints of an above ground parking garage in that rendering?

They can't be serious. 2010 and we're still building above ground parking garages?

[welcome2melrose]

After years of hard work and labor, the ribbon has been cut at Courtlandt Corners ushering over 300 brand new apartments in the ever growing neighborhood of Melrose. Once a blighted span of two blocks of brownfields on East 161st Street between Melrose and Courtlandt Avenues, the new development through its architecture acts as sort of a gateway into Melrose with beautifully designed buildings on 'either side of the street. Courtlandt Corners is yet another wonderful affordable housing development (read more: http://welcome-to-melrose.blogspot.com/2010/11/courtlandt-corners-open-for-business-in.html )

[TheInterloafer]

Fantastic development. W2M, thanks for sharing!

[TheInterloafer]

At last, Concourse Plaza's second office "tower," at 158th St. & Sheridan Ave., is beginning to get its skin.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5170/5228075068_53795b8497_z.jpg

[Derek2k3]

Cool Polshek building near Gateway Shopping Center.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5125/5374758188_8a0095d016_b.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

It looks better than its rendering.

[Derek2k3]

Owner plans $10 million face-lift for boarded-up Old Bronx Courthouse
BY Daniel Beekman
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Monday, April 4th 2011, 1:31 PM

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2011/04/05/alg_old-bronx-courthouse.jpg

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2011/04/04/2011-04-04_owner_plans_10_million_facelift_for_boardedup_o ld_bronx_courthouse.html

[TheInterloafer]

Here is a shot showing the progress on Via Verde as of May 15, 2011.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3644/5732535260_935e1f2e90_b.jpg

[antinimby]

That'll look great when it's done. Can't believe that used to be a weedy lot.

This is what the outerboroughs should be building, not those 3-4 stories waste of space like you see in Williamsburg Brooklyn.

[TheInterloafer]

I agree 110%. I'm really glad to see so much multi-story development bringing energy and life back to empty lots all around the South Bronx.

[Merry]

Give and Get

Small firm gets busy designing pro bono garden in the Bronx.

Tom Stoelker
http://archpaper.com/uploads/image/pro_bono_bronx_02.jpg
Serviam Gardens. Robin Key Landscape Architects

As with much of the industry, 2009 was a slow year for Robin Key Landscape Architecture, but an email from the volunteer organization desigNYC piqued the designers’ interest. Established in 2009 to bring communities, non-profits, and city agencies into closer connection with good design, desigNYC was seeking pro bono designers for an “intergenerational garden” for senior residents at a new affordable housing development called Serviam Gardens, which sits beside Mt. Saint Ursula, an all-girl Catholic high school in the Fordham Bedford section of the Bronx. “We wanted to make good use of our time,” said Key, and so rather than twittling thumbs, the staff of four took on the project.

The firm held meetings with the community to assess the desires of residents, whose diverse backgrounds ranged from the Virgin Islands to the Korean peninsula; gardening was familiar to at least half. “When we came on board the residents were fairly new,” recalled Key. “They really hadn’t had an opportunity to meet each other, and this really opened up a conversation. It brought out a lot of stories of where they come from.”

http://archpaper.com/uploads/pro_bono_bronx_01.jpg

http://archpaper.com/uploads/pro_bono_bronx_05.jpg

http://archpaper.com/uploads/pro_bono_bronx_06.jpg
Serviam Gardens includes distinct spaces and community "rooms."

As with the apartment building, designed by OCV Architects, the garden includes several community “rooms.” “There are lots of nooks and crannies where you can spend the day. We wanted to create gathering spaces where students and residents could garden together,” said Key. Twenty thousand square feet make up the garden, with 7,000 feet set aside for a rooftop garden. OCV principal, John Coogan donated several hours to make the rooftop garden a reality.

The cost, about $1 million, was absorbed by a host of foundations, lenders, and equity investors, including the Home Depot Foundation and Enterprise Community Partners. The city kicked in funds through several housing organizations.

Rosanna Vierra, senior project manager for the developer, the Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, foresees volunteer opportunities for the Ursula students, such as spring planting and fall harvesting. She’s also exploring the possibility of engaging the New York Botanical Garden to provide gardening lessons.

Asked if she’d do volunteer her services again for a project of this size, Key hesitated. “It was a really big project for pro bono, maybe bigger than any of us realized,” she admitted. “But as a small firm with four people, if we were competing, we may not have gotten it. Now we can show that we can compete, so we have gotten as much as we’ve given.”

http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=5368

[ToastyPotato]

Changes coming to 163rd between Courtlandt and Melrose ave.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/KarnX/imag0037.jpg

Anyone have any info?

[antinimby]

Address is 912 Courtlandt Ave.

Only demo permits filed with the DOB. No NB (new building) permits out yet.

[Derek2k3]

Isn't it this:
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=3&passjobnumber=220104223&passdocnumber=01

A large complex designed by Dattner Architects. They did those buildings on 161st that you see in the lower right-hand corner. Courtlandt Corners I think their names are.

Images are on Dattner's website. Courtlandt Crescent:
http://www.dattner.com/

[ToastyPotato]

Woaaa. Ok, that Courtlandt Crescent design drawing is kind of ridiculous in how well it excludes the surrounding area. Not pictured: A car shop(s?) across the street, a mini garbage dump across the other street, some kind of warehouse/industrial buildings, and the fact that the street has been used as a staging point for truck trailers that deliver large amounts of vehicles to the giant lot in the corner.


Address is 912 Courtlandt Ave.

Only demo permits filed with the DOB. No NB (new building) permits out yet.

Any info on the small construction across the street? That was a building similar to the ones next to it, but was quickly demolished. Construction began almost immediately after demolition.

[antinimby]

^ If you're asking about the one in the lower left hand corner of that photo with the beams sticking out of the ground, that's 927 Courtlandt Ave.

12 stories with 77 units. NB permit here (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=2&passjobnumber=220020830&passdocnumber=01).




Isn't it thisYep, I think it is.

[ToastyPotato]

^ If you're asking about the one in the lower left hand corner of that photo with the beams sticking out of the ground, that's 927 Courtlandt Ave.

12 stories with 77 units. NB permit here (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=2&passjobnumber=220020830&passdocnumber=01).



Yep, I think it is.

I found info from a couple of years ago that says this was/is supposed to be a building for the single homeless people with special needs or something, which is something this group has done before. I can't find any updated info on what they plan to do with the building currently (if the plans have changed) or what it will look like on the architect's site though. Their site doesn't list it as a current project. It appears there were some big delays in getting it off the ground though. I found a facebook post dating 2 years back that talked about delays. Interesting.

[antinimby]

^ I think that might still be the case because while the permit does say it is 77 units, the overall construction floor area is only 42K feet.

That means each unit is rather small as compared to normal market-rate residential buildings so it could mean that this project is for some kind of low-income housing.

[TheInterloafer]

Interesting thread on Courtlandt Ave. I've been wondering what's going on there.

Here's another mystery. (Sorry, no photo.)

At the northwest corner of 146th and Gerard, there's at large-seeming lot fronting I think the entire length of the block on 146th, with a sign noting the construction of the "Exterior Street Hotel." Does anyone have more info?

[antinimby]

^ 500 Exterior St.

11 story, 85 room hotel.

NB permit here (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=4&passjobnumber=210107677&passdocnumber=01).

Michael Kang is the listed architect. A local Queens-based architect with mostly mediocre work.

[TheInterloafer]

Thanks Anti-Nimby. Cool. That's quite a change from the current non-use of the space. I wonder how this impacts the Borough President's efforts to attract a hotel to replace any of the non-performing Yankee Stadium parking garages, or "Phase 2" of the Gateway Center at the Bronx Terminal Market, which was also supposed to be a hotel. The only other new hotel I know about in the general area is the small Days Inn on Brook Avenue between 164th & 165th.

[Merry]

That Third Avenue intersection has so much potential and could be really attractive and functional.


Projects Add Amenities to Hub in Bronx

By MAYA POPE-CHAPPELL

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BB474_BLOCK_G_20110714200048.jpg
A rendering for Triangle Equities development planned at the Hub in the South Bronx

Dozens of parked cars, weeds and slabs of graffiti-covered concrete occupy much of the lot where new buildings will begin to rise at the Hub in the South Bronx come next year. The new development coincides with other improvements being made to the already vibrant commercial area where thousands of pedestrians pass through daily.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BB473_BLOCK_DV_20110714195919.jpg
Planters on Roberto Clemente Plaza

Centered at the intersection of East 149th Street and Third, Melrose and Willis avenues, the Hub is one of the busiest intersections in the Bronx. It has long been a major retail and cultural center for the surrounding neighborhoods of Melrose and Mott Haven, but the major thoroughfare is getting a boost from improved traffic routes, more public space and a two new multi-use buildings.

"Right now, we're not the shopping area that we once were," said Vincent Valentino, executive director of the Hub Third Avenue Business Improvement District. But Mr. Valentino is counting on the changes to ready the area for an upswing. "Hopefully it will bring people down here," he said.

One of the most recent and noticeable changes to the Hub has been improvements to Roberto Clemente Plaza. The project, which began in 2008, brought some 15,000 square feet of pedestrian plaza and expanded sidewalk space, nearly five miles of bike lanes and improved traffic flows for both cars and buses. Planters and a small plot of greenery were also added.

Work on the plaza in 2012 will include the removal of a small building used as a bus dispatching facility by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the addition of tables, seating and more greenery. A water fountain and a sculpture by Lewis DeSoto will also be added. The piece will reference a lighthouse inspired by the life of the plaza's namesake, who was the first Latin American player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BB472_BLOCK_G_20110714195837.jpg

"In terms of looks, it's going to be an improvement," said Abel Brea, the owner of two cellphone sales-and-repair stores at the Hub called 1800Fix.com.

The Hub will get another boost from two buildings that will be constructed on two lots that have been underutilized for years. Currently, the overgrown parcels are being used as a parking lot and the site of a boxing gym.

The New York City Economic Development Corp. selected Triangle Equities to purchase and develop the parcels, which are located in the Melrose section of the Bronx near the Hub. The two sites are bounded by Westchester Avenue, East 149th Street, and Brook and Bergen avenues.

Triangle Equities said it is in contract to purchase the parcels from the city for about $6.2 million. Construction on the Triangle Plaza project is to begin by fall 2012 with completion expected in 2014.

The larger of the new buildings, to be constructed on a 58,000-square-foot lot, will hold retail and office space as well as two amenities not currently available at the Hub—a supermarket and a family-style, sit-down restaurant. The smaller building will hold a school and a second restaurant on a 53,800-square-foot lot.

"This particular area has been designated as an area which is in need of fresh produce and quality markets," said Elysa Goldman, director of development for Triangle Equities. "We saw an opportunity to fill that need."

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BB471_BLOCK_G_20110714195759.jpg
A lot to be developed by Triangle Equities

But Luis Vega, a meat-market owner who has worked in the area for more than 25 years, has mixed feelings about the development. While the new buildings will benefit the area, he said, the new supermarket may have an adverse affect on his business.

"I probably have to compete with them," said Mr. Vega, who owns the Butcher's Choice Meat Market, which has two locations at the Hub. "I'm a little guy. They're going to take customers away with better prices."

The development will also include a 8,000-square-foot public plaza with outdoor dining areas at Bergen and East 149th streets.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BB470_BLOCK_G_20110714195733.jpg
Hub looking up Third Avenue

The project will cost some $40 million, which is being funded privately, according to the developer. It's also expected to create more than 300 jobs.

Lourdes Zapata, senior vice president of the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp., said the changes will not only "address service and educational needs of the community, but it will bring more ancillary economic benefit to the community."

Mr. Brea, who has been in business in the area for more than 20 years, agreed, adding that he hopes pedestrians transferring at the Hub between the two subway lines and several buses that converge there will have reason to spend more time in the area.

"Anything that they do to make this more of a destination will help," he said. "It will give the merchants more of an opportunity to display themselves."

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BB475_NYBLOC_G_20110714181508.jpg

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304203304576446120055858578.html?m od=WSJ_RealEstate_MIDDLETopNews

[Derek2k3]

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6022/5959425026_26843b009e_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6145/5959424862_581e1f70b8_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6029/5959424776_ecc006fbf5_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6001/5958863787_3671acb830_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6146/5958862515_8263c05acc_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6020/5959423524_8a127dbb58_b.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6130/5959424942_5db069ef22_b.jpg


[img]

[Gulcrapek]

Wow. Just recently I was craving an update for that, and... wow.

[lofter1]

I like how this one looks. Where's it located and what is it?

[TheInterloafer]

You can find info here: http://www.plannyc.org/taxonomy/term/747

[ToastyPotato]

There seems to be some fairly big developments very near to this. Actually quite a large set of decently sized buildings. They started going up first (or at least were visible above the roof tops of other nearby buildings first) and I actually thought at the time that those buildings were going to be the ones that you posted (until I noticed them stopping much shorter.) So now I have no idea what they are.

[Derek2k3]

They added a little flagpole since the last time I saw it.


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6063/6071389835_c842984590_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6182/6071390031_c6334df2fa_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6207/6071640267_82201e496e_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6192/6071933748_e226c404c4_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6208/6071390165_984be2ef53_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6188/6071389901_fbfb052dc9_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6209/6071390459_b9f77ec09a_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6084/6071389961_3036ab923e_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6081/6071640259_02c18832a5_b.jpg
Large: http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6081/6071640259_02c18832a5_b.jpg

[Merry]

231st Street Builds Its Future

By WESLEY LOWERY

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BD608_NYBLOC_G_20110825191035.jpg

Numerous projects in the vicinity of 231st Street in the West Kingsbridge section of the Bronx are giving a boost to the diverse neighborhood, residents and realestate people say.

Orange barrels, hard hats and the other typical signs of construction have become commonplace in the past few years in the vicinity of 231st Street west of Broadway in the West Kingsbridge section of the Bronx.

In June, the newly constructed Kingsbridge Library opened its doors. The 12,625-square-foot, $17.7 million building designed by Prendergast Laurel Architects features the New York Public Library's first "green" roof, which catches and reuses rain water.

The 231st Street subway station reopened five years ago after a major renovation that included the installation of colorful glass artwork by Felipe Galindo. Along Broadway, grocery stores have upgraded their offerings and appearance, efforts to make West Kingsbridge appealing to middle-class shoppers.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BD609_NYBLOC_G_20110825191106.jpg
The 231st Street subway station

Next up: luxury condominiums. Kingsbridge has long been home to an ethnically diverse cross section of middle- and working-class residents. Now developers of two new condo buildings are trying to attract more affluent families to the area from northern Manhattan and beyond. One selling point for West Kingsbridge is its proximity to Riverdale, a wealthier Bronx community on the Hudson River.

While West 231st Street is just two subway stops from Manhattan on the No. 1 train, getting potential residents to cross the border into the Bronx has always been difficult. But developers say that affordable prices—along with quiet streets and an abundance of private, parochial and charter schools—is helping them overcome the negative perceptions of the Bronx.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BD611_NYBLOC_G_20110825191230.jpg
The new Kingsbridge Library

"We're trying to tell people that if they stay on the subway for another 10 minutes, they can save hundreds of thousands of dollars and have lower taxes and live in a doorman building," said Rutherford Thompson, a managing director at Jackson Capital Partners Corp., the sales and leasing agent for Sycamore Court, a 63-unit building that opened recently at the corner of 231st and Corlear Avenue.

Pre-sales for condos at the Sycamore Court began in June with prices ranging from $266,000 for a studio to $632,000 for a three-bedroom. Many of the potential buyers live or work in the area and some are relocating from Inwood, in northern Manhattan. Columbia University's New York-Presbyterian Hospital, which currently has a location in Inwood, is in talks to take space for medical offices at Sycamore Court.

Just a few hundred feet away from Sycamore, construction for the Pancas condo building at 3120 Corlear is near the final stages of completion. The building will house a charter school on the first three floors and 48 condos in the top seven floors.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BD612_NYBLOC_G_20110825191254.jpg
The new Kingsbridge Library

Eric Chen, developer of the building, said prices will range from the low $200,000s for studios to as much as $500,000 for two bedrooms.
He believes some of the negative perceptions about the Bronx will fade in the years ahead. "Just 10 or 15 years ago, Brooklyn had the same type of stigma," said Mr. Chen.
Keith Mitchell relocated his family to the area about a year and a half ago, opening what has become a popular neighborhood shop: Leila's Hand Dipped Chocolates at 225 W. 231st St.
"This is probably the only place in the Bronx that I would have opened a shop," Mr. Mitchell said, citing the friendly, slow-paced neighborhood ambiance that allows him to get to know his regular customers. "The little havens in the other boroughs are getting overpriced, so it might just be the spark needed to get this Kingsbridge area going," he said.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BD610_NYBLOC_G_20110825191151.jpg
Sycamore Court, corner of 231st Street and Corlear Avenue.

Around the corner, on 230th Street and Corlear, TD Bank Financial Group is constructing what will be the first drive-through bank branch in the community. The branch, which will also have a solar canopy and other energy-efficient features, is part of TD Bank's 10-year effort to expand throughout the city, which has included the construction of six branches in the Bronx since 2004.
"We like the density of population and that this area has great potential for growth," said Greg Braca, TD Bank's regional president for New York City and northern New Jersey. The branch is slated to open this fall.

Once a predominantly Irish neighborhood, West Kingsbridge has become extraordinarily diverse. While many Irish residents still live in the community and many more visit the area's numerous Irish restaurants and bars, the growing populations are Jewish, Middle Eastern, Greek and Latino. A stroll down 231st Street leads residents past a Kosher coffee shop, a Mexican restaurant, an Italian pizzeria and an Islamic deli.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BD616_NYBLOC_G_20110825192703.jpg

It's a virtual United Nations," said Gary Moore, a broker at Robert E. Hill Real Estate, located on 231st Street. "Just about every group or person you could find you'd find on this street."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904070604576514551625942270.html

[TheInterloafer]

Changes coming to 163rd between Courtlandt and Melrose ave.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/KarnX/imag0037.jpg

Anyone have any info?

Toasty, I think the building on the left of the shot is now at least five stories, no? Can you give us a visual update?

[NoyokA]

Via Verde looks good. I was worried when I heard that it was value engineered but it came out nicely, I wish other low income developments had a similar architectural quality, it would give people a real pride in place and uplift neighborhoods.

[Gulcrapek]

Interloafer: that building will be 12 floors when finished.

[Gulcrapek]

Via Verde, mid August

http://i.imgur.com/6vB0Oh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/GUP9yh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jTwcGh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/p28kdh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RjDjhh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/fzT32h.jpg

Stair core

http://i.imgur.com/HN1grh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IclY2h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Oj0buh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7l0WWh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jQIkKh.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

Melrose, mid August. Sorry for the weird light and general cruddy pictures.

La Puerta de Vitalidad

http://i.imgur.com/mpC5Ph.jpg

La Casa de Felicidad corner

http://i.imgur.com/Eq7lRh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RMQ5kh.jpg

Aurora

http://i.imgur.com/eUh4Yh.jpg


Palacio del Sol

http://i.imgur.com/41NMth.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/XjYGph.jpg

El Jardin de Selene

http://i.imgur.com/yTWRAh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/czP6wh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/a29R2h.jpg

Parkview Commons and Parkview II

http://i.imgur.com/uRX07h.jpg

Parts of Courtlandt Corners

http://i.imgur.com/WkmWnh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/n3d2Oh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/lsGlOh.jpg

Parts of the Boricua College residential area

http://i.imgur.com/o8yeRh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/09pH1h.jpg

St. Ann's Terrace

http://i.imgur.com/ol0Hjh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7Wfyah.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RaaCkh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/eZxWoh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/gCuoFh.jpg

Townhouses

http://i.imgur.com/urgARh.jpg

[TheInterloafer]

Interloafer: that building will be 12 floors when finished.

Seriously? That's awesome. I didn't see the steel frame rising that high so I thought it would be topping out at six or seven.

Great photos of all around Melrose & Via Verde. There's so much great, generally unheralded revitalization going on there it's nice to see it here on the board.

[Gulcrapek]

Actually it may be 6, I forgot what I saw on the permit. But probably 12 because I remember thinking that's a really narrow site for such a tall building.

[ToastyPotato]

Toasty, I think the building on the left of the shot is now at least five stories, no? Can you give us a visual update?

14105








Cellphone camera quality is terrible, but here is an updated picture.

[TheInterloafer]

Excellent! Thanks for the update. Keep 'em coming as these various buildings progress. Are these HPD/HDC buildings that are going up? Are they income-restricted in some way? Also, has Cortlandt Corners been populated with residents? I remember walking past there and thinking that the buildings looked great, but they didn't look all that inhabited.

[ToastyPotato]

Cortlandt Corners has people moving in. No idea about the other stuff, though.

[Derek2k3]

NY Times

Architecture Review
In a Bronx Complex, Doing Good Mixes With Looking Good
By MICHAEL KIMMELMAN
Published: September 26, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/arts/design/via-verde-in-south-bronx-rewrites-low-income-housing-rules.html?_r=3&hp

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/09/26/arts/verde/verde-popup.jpg

[Merry]

Road to Green

Dattner Grimshaw Bronx partnership yields model sustainable housing.

by Tom Stoelker

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/image/Via_Verde_02.jpg
Via Verde and its active stepped roof spaces. Phipps Rose Dattner Grimshaw

Via Verde, the affordable housing complex designed by Dattner Architects in partnership with Grimshaw, would fit with any of the sexy newcomers on Manhattan’s West Side Highway. Built atop a former rail yard in the Melrose section of the South Bronx, the triangular site sits directly across from some featureless low-income housing in uninspiring old-school red brick.

Jonathan Rose Companies and Phipps Houses developed Via Verde with Dattner and Grimshaw, the team that won the New York New Housing Legacy Competition, New York’s first juried competition for affordable and sustainable housing, in 2007.

The 151 rental units and 71 co-ops are geared toward middle to low-income families. The 290,000 square foot project is shooting for LEED Gold and is a pilot for the city’s Active Design Guidelines, meant to combat obesity by encouraging exercise and activity through design; there are staircases everywhere.

The complex slowly steps away from athletic fields at the south and up toward a twenty-story tower. From a four-story section, to an eight-story section, then ten, and twelve, with each successive floor providing generous rooftop space for programming.



http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Via_Verde_04.jpg (http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Via_Verde_04.jpg)

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Via_Verde_05.jpg (http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Via_Verde_05.jpg)

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Via_Verde_07.jpg (http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Via_Verde_07.jpg)

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Via_Verde_06.jpg (http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Via_Verde_06.jpg)


Left to right: The rooftop under construction; a detail of the facade with solar canopy; an elevational view of the facade; and a detail of sun screens over the windows.





Five live/work units face the street with street-side office entries, and some retail and grocery stores mixed in. Charcoal bricks face the first two stories, before being relieved by 25-foot-long prefabricated panels that front much of the building’s facade.

The prefab panels are divided into geometric color/material blocs that serve aesthetic and practical ends. Composite wood panels stained deep brown, maroon, and honey butt against aluminum rain screens with airspace between the outside facade panels and the wall sheathing and insulation behind. The pressure-equalized system, developed in Europe, allows moisture to “weep out” from the building, a feature more common in office buildings. The curtain wall panels include sunscreens, balconies, windows, and doors. They were shipped directly to the site, craned into place, and then snapped on.

Set midway into the building, a large archway guides residents into a central courtyard where a row of townhomes line the eastern edge of the site. Galvanized steel stairs invite residents to climb up, rather than ride the elevator—a theme repeated throughout.



http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Via_Verde_03.jpg (http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Via_Verde_03.jpg)

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Via_Verde_08.jpg (http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Via_Verde_08.jpg)


The enlightened new faces off with generic old housing (left) and a detail of Via Verde along Brook Avenue (right).





Once inside the court, the rooftop setbacks get dramatic play. Residents can climb up to their apartment level via amphitheater seating that steps up to the top of the townhouses and a series of rooftop gardens designed by Lee Weintraub. There, a grove of pine trees—that can be harvested by the community at holidays—will give way to another level holding edible fruit trees. A bridge connecting the east and west wings of the complex guides visitors through a community roof garden. On the next level up there is a community gym, primarily programmed for exercise.

The building continues to work its way up toward the tower, but the rest of the setbacks host an organized array of photovoltaic screens held in place, trellis-like, by galvanized steel frames.

At the top of the 20-story tower, there is a patio with a panoramic view of the Bronx and midtown Manhattan skyline. Across Melrose, the redbrick of old-school projects meets the contemporary orange of newer low-income housing. In the midst of it, all Via Verde stands apart: green striving for gold, and accessible on many levels.

http://www.archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=5652

[TheInterloafer]

The NY Times walks throughout Melrose with Amanda Burden, and they like what they see.


http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/10/04/arts/100000001089498/south-bronx-rising.html

[TheInterloafer]

Does anyone know what's happening on Park Avenue between 144th & 146th Streets? The former Chairmasters warehouse has been demolished and it looks like there's construction starting there. It's in the Lower Concourse Rezoning Area. Maybe it's an expansion of Lincoln Hospital?

[Gulcrapek]

A permit for 201 East 144th St. mentions a new five storey building designed by Gensler and a document on the DOB site indicates this will be the "KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) Charter High School" at 220 Park Avenue.

[TheInterloafer]

Interesting. OK, thanks.

[ToastyPotato]

Has there been any news about the planned expansion of Hostos College? I remember seeing signs on a building that it was the future site of an expansion, but that was a long time ago, and I haven't heard anything about it since. Also, the old (High?) School next to the college seems to be boarded up.

[TheInterloafer]

I don't think Hostos has any active expansion plans. The abandoned "Castle on the Concourse" (as named in the AIA Guide) was formerly P.S. 31, until P.S. 31 moved to 156th Street between Sheridan and Morris. The Castle would be so expensive to rehabilitate given that it's probably riddled with asbestos, and yet is subject to burdensome landmarks restrictions, that no one wants anything to do with it. Not even its land-hungry neighbor, Hostos. Not even its owner, the Dept. of Education. Thus, it is destined to continue to decay. It is a perverse, unintended outcome of the landmarks preservation process, which is supposed to try to preserve nice old buildings.

[Gulcrapek]

Lindenguild Hall

3859 3rd Avenue
9 floors
104 units
Harden + van Arnam Architects

http://www.hardenvanarnam.com/HVA/_images/WIP/05/05.lh.jpg
hardenvanarnam.com

10/16/11

http://i.imgur.com/QWIivh.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

491 Fletcher Street

6 floors
68 units
Chris Benedict, R.A.

More or less two single-loaded buildings separated by a courtyard.

10/16/11

http://i.imgur.com/stynNh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/YC1BFh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ZNp9Wh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ufwp5h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/uRcK8h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Yvpq0h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TYTseh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/rxxAJh.jpg



Multipurpose room

http://i.imgur.com/tHhWZh.jpg

Corridor

http://i.imgur.com/vmn6lh.jpg

Roof, including boiler room

http://i.imgur.com/S6pvPh.jpg


This is across the street:

2271 Washington Avenue

14 floors
118 units
Hugo Subotovsky Architects/Aufgang+Subotovsky

http://i.imgur.com/YgBich.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

Roscoe C. Brown, Jr. Apartments

3952 Third Avenue
11 floors
279 units

http://i.imgur.com/U3NISh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/T1ePih.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/sfNeEh.jpg

There is really an immense amount of new construction in the Bronx. I still find it incredible that such an enormous number of projects gets no publicity or notice.

[Derek2k3]

There are tons of stuff in Queens as well. There are hundreds of new 12 story buildings in the outer-boroughs that have never been mentioned here.

[TheInterloafer]

Here's an interesting one for the architecture, but maybe even more for the site. Webster Commons, which I just found on the website of the Jackson Development Group (http://www.jacksondevelopment.com/), will have 430 affordable and senior apartments and should be finished by June 2013. Check out where it's being built: 3556 Webster Avenue (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=3556+Webster+Avenue,+Bronx,+NY&hl=en&ll=40.881666,-73.869367&spn=0.005475,0.011362&sll=40.825022,-73.923488&sspn=0.01096,0.022724&vpsrc=6&hnear=3556+Webster+Ave,+Bronx,+New+York+10467&t=h&z=17). It's tucked right in the narrow strip of land between Woodlawn Cemetery and Metro-North's Harlem Line.

Here's some more info from the Bronx News Network (http://www.bronxnewsnetwork.org/2011/07/new-webster-ave-plans-bring-cheers-and.html). (Notice how much space the reporter gives to one or two NIMBY cranks, including one who isn't even from the right community board!)


14448

[TheInterloafer]

At the northwest corner of 146th and Gerard, there's at large-seeming lot fronting I think the entire length of the block on 146th, with a sign noting the construction of the "Exterior Street Hotel." Does anyone have more info?


^ 500 Exterior St.

11 story, 85 room hotel.

NB permit here (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=4&passjobnumber=210107677&passdocnumber=01).

Michael Kang is the listed architect. A local Queens-based architect with mostly mediocre work.

The Wall Street Journal has an update (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903703604576586833274823482.html?m od=WSJ_NY_RealEstate_LEFTTopStories):


[A] new Holiday Inn Express is now being built at the intersection of 146th and Exterior streets. The project is expected to be complete by mid-2013, with a total of 85 rooms, according to Sherry Telford, a spokeswoman for InterContinental Hotels Group.

[TheInterloafer]

Back in the fall of 2008, the owners of the Concourse Plaza strip mall on E. 161st Street posted some banners (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5081&page=11&p=267317&viewfull=1#post267317) touting the arrival of a new five-story office "tower" on the property. As of May 2009 it was still an empty lot (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5081&page=14&p=284190&viewfull=1#post284190). Then in October 2009 it was in the early stages of construction (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5081&page=17&p=299725&viewfull=1#post299725) (third photo). Here, at long last, is the moment we've all been waiting for. . . . [Drumroll] . . . the final product:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6609384193_d2b64b48dd_b.jpg

The building, at 820 Concourse Village West (Sheridan Avenue), has 69,000 square feet of office space on five stories, the top of which is set back from the street. It has curtain wall glass of green and white horizontal bands facing the street and on the opposite side toward the interior of the strip mall. The green/white banding is reminiscent of its big older brother at 198 E. 161st Street, Concourse Plaza Office Tower I, which has well defined green/white horizontal bands, as barely visible in this photo. The newer building's north and south facades also have sections of masonry. One tenant is the Social Security Administration. I'm not sure who else is in there as of now. This photo is taken from the southwest, at 158th Street and Concourse Village West. All in all I would say it is a satisfactory, serviceable effort.

[TheInterloafer]

The New York City Department of Transportation is building a four-lane, 511-foot-long cable-stayed bridge (https://www.dot.ny.gov/recovery/sponsors/tiger/repository/153 street bridge Application.pdf) (pdf) that will span the Metro-North Harlem Line at East 153rd Street, connecting Concourse Village West to Park Avenue. It's going to be the first cable-stayed bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable-stayed_bridge) in New York State, a huge iconic structure with twin 195-foot-tall central towers supporting cables that will descend diagonally toward each end of the bridge. To prepare the bridge's western approach to accomodate more traffic, DOT is apparently widening E. 153rd Street between the Grand Concourse and Concourse Village West. To do that, they have just demolished two former auto-service buildings at 670 and 676 Grand Concourse, across 153rd Street from Cardinal Hayes High School.

This "before" photo shows the buildings in February 2011.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6785211177_e3771b4495_b.jpg

Here's a detail of the vintage-looking sign that had just been uncovered when I took that photo.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6785211299_a56fee25a4_b.jpg

Here are some "after" shots of the demolished buildings.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7019/6785211395_b0603cab0d_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6785211509_228ecb1d78_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6785211597_4ae9d953c2_b.jpg

[ToastyPotato]

I don't know how I feel about this. It's weird that it will terminate into such a big bottleneck on the Park Ave side, since that isn't being widened like the other side is.