Photo courtesy of New York Botanical Garden

A Bronxdale building located near the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden is now accepting applications for five middle-income apartments. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for $1,450/month one-bedrooms, as well as $1,800/month and $1,900/month two-bedrooms. Located near the 2 and 5 trains, the commute from the rental at 2547 Cruger Avenue to Midtown Manhattan is just under an hour.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable apartments at 245 East 115th Street until February 2, 2018. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

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We’ve been hearing so much about neighborhoods like Bushwick, Sunset Park, the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Long Island City ushering in a new era of creative industry. But the city’s next creative office hub is blossoming in the South Bronx neighborhoods of Mott Haven, Port Morris, and Hunts Point. CityRealty offers an update on newest addition to the area, to arrive by mid-2018: Union Crossing at 825 East 141st Street will bring more than 275,000 square feet of office and studio space with retail on the ground floor.

The eight-story building is situated between the Bruckner Expressway and Amtrak’s Hell Gate line, which Metro-North will utilize when it adds four new Bronx stops to its New Haven line over the next few years, including one in Hunt’s Point just north of Union Crossing. Additionally, the 6 train’s East 143rd Street-St. Mary’s Street station is nearby, as is Willow Avenue’s burgeoning art and manufacturing district. Development partners Madison Realty Capital, The Altmark Group, The Bluestone Group, and Galil Management acquired the site in 2016 for $44 million from the New York-based Union Standard Equipment Company, according to the Bronx Times.

Recently the team launched an official website marketing the spaces, saying the new hub is being built upon the energy and entrepreneurial spirit of New York City’s northernmost borough and offers flexible office and studio spaces and retail amenities to the growing creative community of Port Morris. Per the site, the eight-story building was constructed as a major baking facility for the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P). When the grocer moved its production outside of the city, the building became the world’s largest warehouse and rebuilding facility for food processing and packaging equipment.

For the building’s newest chapter the international firm of Woods Bagot has been brought on to upgrade the infrastructure. Plans include new MEP systems, passenger elevators and windows. Flexible and expansive floor plates with 20-foot ceilings will become offices, maker studios and commissaries. The upper floor will offer sweeping city and water views. The ground floor will contain retail spaces, and there will be a loading dock off Bruckner Boulevard and an oversized freight elevator.

Silvercup Studios brought a new film studio to the area in 2016 and a new Fresh Direct distribution center is in the works for later in 2018.

[Via CityRealty]

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Renderings courtesy of Woods Bagot.

Images (L to R): Avalon Brooklyn Bay, SKY, Ellipse and Henry Hall

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Rendering of Bronx Point courtesy of S9 Architecture

A new rendering of Bronx Point, a mixed-use development planned for the South Bronx waterfront, has been unveiled, providing a closer look at L+M Development Partner and Type A Projects’ plan to bring over 1,000 units of housing, a food hall and the country’s first brick-and-mortar museum designated to Hip-Hop to the neighborhood. As YIMBY reported, the housing will be delivered in two phases, with the first bringing 600 units of permanent affordable public housing by 2022. The second phase is expected to wrap up about three years after the first. Designed by S9 Architecture, the complex will include a new waterfront esplanade, state-of-the-art multiplex theater, flashy outdoor performance area and educational spaces.

Rendering of Bronx Point courtesy of S9 Architecture

One of the last remaining parcels of land in the Bronx owned by city, the site sits near the busy 149th Street corridor and adjacent to Mill Pond Park and the 145th Street Bridge. In July of 2016, the city’s Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals for the site, L+M won the bid in September and the City Council approved the mixed-use project in October.

Phase one’s 600 units will be set aside for households ranging with incomes from extremely low to moderate. Half of these units will include two- and three-bedroom apartments.

By 2022, the site is expected to have a new esplanade that will connect to the Mill Pond Park, an outdoor performance space, the museum and on-site educational programming. The locally-focused food and beverage hall will be curated by Anna Castellani, the mastermind behind Brooklyn’s Dekalb Market Hall.

[Via YIMBY]

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It’s been almost a year since the first lottery launched at Webster Avenue, COOKFOX‘s two-building affordable and supportive housing complex in the Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx. Four months after the lottery went live for the 227 units at Park House, nonprofit developer Breaking Ground reported that they’d received a staggering 55,163 applications. Now, they’ll need to get ready for another influx; as of today, the lottery is live for the second building, Webster Residence. Here, single New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income, or between $25,000 and $40,000 annually, can apply for 80 $675/month energy efficient studios.

According to the architects, “the two residences are designed to provide healthy and sustainable housing, incorporating high-performance building systems and biophilic design.” Amenities at the complex include 24-hour security, a landscaped courtyard, garden, green roof, on-site laundry, a fitness room, computer lab, and bike storage.

Webster Avenue is located near Fordham University and is less than a 30-minute walk from the New York Botanical Garden and Bronx Zoo. It’s also near the Tremont-Harlem Line of Metro-North, the B/D subways, and several bus routes. As 6sqft previously reported, “The hope is that this formerly industrial site will transform into healthy and sustainable housing that builds positive change and prevents homelessness.”

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable apartments at the Webster Residence until March 20, 2018. Residents of Bronx Community Board 6 will be given preference for 50 percent of the units. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

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All renderings © COOKFOX

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6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re touring the South Bronx design studio of Sebastian Errazuriz. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch!

Sebastian Errazuriz is a Chilean-born artist, designer, and activist but over the years, he’s grown his multidisciplinary studio to incorporate everything from virtual reality to activism. But nothing he does is cookie-cutter. His cabinets undulate and mimic kaleidoscopes; his public art makes social commentary on issues from Wall Street and capitalism to Chile’s politicide; and he’s created sculptures that mix a boat with a coffin and a crystal chandelier with taxidermy birds. Sebastian likens his ability to work in these mediums separately but together to how he can speak both English and Spanish but also Spanglish. “It’s the freedom to incorporate words that do not exist in one particular language but that enrich communication with someone else that I really enjoy within the boundaries of art and design,” he explains.

Now, Sebastian is at the forefront of yet another new frontier. Though he has a 5,000-square-foot space at the uber-hip Industry City, he opened his second location last summer in Mott Haven, one of the city’s newest artist enclaves due to its affordable warehouse spaces and non-residential nature that sets it apart from the more gentrifying parts of the area. 6sqft recently paid Sebastian a visit here to learn how his firm is growing, the process behind his “functional art,” and why he moved to the South Bronx.

Top: Sebastian’s Wave cabinets flanking his Mahogoni Explosion piece; Middle: A Wave cabinet in motion; Bottom: his Magistral Chest

You describe your work as “functional art.” Can you tell us about that concept?

I try to design functional objects that incorporate elements of the arts that are a political extension of religious sculpture. But then I also try to get artworks to actually function because they always say that an artwork has no function but itself.

Today everyone is self-expressing. So in a way, the artist is forced to be a little more responsible and have a more civic role within the community in which it’s not just about speaking of what they feel but having an active role communicating ideas through their visual skills.

You were born in Chile, raised in London and studied design in Santiago and then came to New York to get a Master’s of art at NYU. How did spending time in these different cities and countries play into your overall aesthetic?

Being Latin has a series of advantages–no matter what social group you’re raised in, you’re still raised within a notion of being part of a group and being responsible for each other. The Latin culture is very into families. It’s not just about you; you have to be responsible for your cousins and your brothers, et cetera. That sense of inclusion is quite interesting in the design and art practice because not only are you trying to do things with a certain level of responsibility but you’re also trying to include as many elements as possible.

The Brits are extremely cold and efficient yet also quite snarky and very witty. Again, you have this general structure of toughness, but the humor allows you to work on projects that are maybe more sensitive. At the same time, it becomes a more democratic component. You can see a piece and think it’s quite simple to get a laugh out of it and then you can continue to see that the rest of the layers are behind the art.

This toughness is required if you’re in the arts in New York City. In New York, our time is super valuable. We get annoyed that people stand outside the subway stop or get in our way. I think this sense of speed and urgency is very vital, too.

Top: Sebastian looks at his reflection in the Narcissus Desk, which he created based on the idea that “someone could see their reflection and yet not be aware they were looking at themselves.” Behind him is the Bilbao/tree shelf. Bottom: Chicken Lamp.

Do you feel as though your work has evolved being in New York?

New York is the cultural capital of the world so [seeing] the latest projects and what the competition is doing is a constant reminder of the pulse and speed and the level at which you are required to perform. And then we add that it is one of the richest cities in the world and therefore the vast majority of the collectors are people who have access to the most exquisite things; they are trained in a level of sophistication that forces you to be up to par. It’s almost like imagining a tech accelerator for a start-up; New York is an accelerator for the level of artists and designers.

On the Edge Starting at Eternal Infinity. Sebastian says of this piece, “I wanted to create a small piece that could try to talk about death and narcissism in this crazy era of Art Fair selfies.”

Why is creating public art important to you?

A lot of stand-alone pieces end up in homes of collectors or are showcased in galleries that are relatively exclusive. As much as it’s a privilege to be able to have these pieces sold at a good price and exhibited in nice places, you also want to create work that can reach as many people as possible. If there’s a percentage of people who don’t have the time to go to museums or the cultural interest, what if we could take our works out to them and rock their routines?

Their mind frame isn’t in the place that they’re going to go see artwork, so you create this comparison to their normal routine and interrupt life, and I think there’s something very beautiful there.

The Metamorphosis shelf

Do you think this taps into the South American traits you were discussing?

Yes; if you were privileged enough to have a really good education you have a responsibility to give back and create projects that the community can enjoy, too. And if the government isn’t going to sponsor it, you’ve got to figure out a way to sponsor it.

Middle: The Sanctuary desk; Bottom: “Art Is a Matter of Life and Death“

To that point, in 2006, you did a piece in Chile’s National Stadium titled “The Tree Memorial of a Concentration Camp,” where you placed a large magnolia tree on the site where dictator Augusto Pinochet had imprisoned, tortured, and killed thousands of political prisoners in 1973. What was this experience like?

After that period, people continued to use the stadium without any kind of cleaning of any kind. After two years of work, I managed to raise money to rent the stadium for a whole week for myself. We brought in machinery, dug a hole in the middle of the soccer field where you start a match and planted the 40-foot tree. Then we covered the grass around it so it looked as if the tree had always been there. It’s as if the space was really a park and not a football field.

Then we opened up the gates so suddenly everyone could walk in, and this stadium that was so charged suddenly was this very tranquil park. And because the walls were so high, it was very silent even though it’s in downtown Santiago.

That project in and of itself, I think, did more to get the people of Santiago to deal with part of their history. We even had a soccer match where Chile’s national soccer team played [with the tree in the center], and we had 40,000 people go see this surreal match.

The Piano Shelf sits above the Porcupine Cabinet, which “questions the cost-efficient paradigm that cabinets must consist of a box with two front doors.”

If you could have your pick of any space in New York to occupy with your work what would it be?

I would take the 9/11 memorial. I think the architects did an amazing job. It was an incredibly difficult challenge and what they’ve done is intellectually brilliant but it’s lifeless. It’s extremely cold and doesn’t have any personal touch. It doesn’t contain you. It doesn’t welcome you. It doesn’t hold you. And it also doesn’t point us in the direction of those people who are from other cultures and often are considered our enemy. It doesn’t help tear down the cultural [boundaries], and I think that should be a responsibility. There needs to be some sort of a bridge that’s going in one direction, asking for the other side to build their bridge better.

There’s artwork there but it’s commissioned by the architects for the areas where the architects decided that the art should go. So it’s all part of a master plan that is at an urban scale and not at a people scale, not at a heart scale, and not at an emotional scale.

Boat Coffin is one of Sebastian’s favorite pieces. It “allows the ‘sailor; to say goodbye to his people on shore, and then go off on his own into deep seas and open skies…” He says, “Life is short, and if I know I’m about to die, I’d rather take my own life and go down in style, shouting to the heavens to go fuck themselves.”

On a bit of a lighter note, you created a public art piece here in Times Square in 2015, where 50 digital billboards played a close-up, black-and-white video of you yawning. What was the inspiration behind this?

As I said, one of the main characteristics here is time and speed. As much as it’s important as a professional to be able to reach those levels, at the same time, it’s important to create a moment of pause and offer the city that never sleeps a moment to be tranquil. And it occurred to me that yawns are contagious. We’re not really sure why. It’s supposed to be related to empathy, a characteristic that we don’t have too much in New York. So I figured what if I could get as many screens as possible in Time Square and project New York and somehow get people in Time Square to stop and start yawning. It took me quite a while to get all of the cards in place, but we eventually got 50 giant screens for three minutes every night for a full month. The most visually populated spot on the planet suddenly started slowing down a bit.

Chicken Chair was an attempt to make people more aware of the choices they make each day. “I would like for people to see one live chicken once more in their life, to find it both uncomfortable and beautiful at the same time,” explains Sebastian. 

Obviously, the entire political culture is a huge topic today, but are there any more specific social and political issues that are really affecting your current work? 

There are many, especially in terms of general awareness. For example, we’ve been working on an app platform to help find missing kids. I was going from my home to the studio and saw those photocopied posters. I became sensitive to that and started trying to figure out how to make a contribution from a technological standpoint that could get to most people. And then I had to understand the social logic, the politics of what’s going on with the police, and how to create alliances with companies to all come together to make a contribution.

I think every artist and every person has a responsibility today. It’s not just the current political scene that is much more intense and scary than it was a decade ago but also the fact that global warming continues to move exponentially with repercussions that we’re not really aware of. There are a lot of experts saying we’re about to go into a couple decades of mass unemployment, huge migration, mass social inequality, and corporations having more and more power than ever. So I think the idea of the artist who is only self-reflective and hopes people will be fascinated by his personal aesthetic is a thing of the past.

Why did you choose Industry City for your first studio?

For me, it was simply the possibility of having a large space at a reliable price where you didn’t have to worry too much about your neighbors. And it being a quick trip from the city allowed us to fabricate all the different pieces that we needed to.

And why the Bronx for your second location?

It seemed like a good idea to separate spaces because of all of the different disciplines we do and to be able to separate functions physically and not confuse people as much when they go to one place or another. This is more where we’re working on tech, and we’re using it as a show space. We can exhibit things in a very clean environment.

Have you seen more artists and creative companies coming into this neighborhood?

Definitely. In just three months at the coffee shop next door, you’d see the number of bagels and muffins going down. Right at the beginning, it seemed like these guys were having to take all of this food back every day, but a little while later you’re like wow, people are buying and the bagels are gone.

+++

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All photos taken by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft. Photos are not to be reproduced without written permission from 6sqft.

Images (Clockwise): 175 KENT APARTMENTS, LENOX TERRACE, RIVERBANK and 1629 PACIFIC ST.

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For even more offers, see CityRealty’s interactive map below or click here >>

Woodlawn Cemetery via Wiki Commons

In the Wakefield section of the Bronx, two affordable apartments are up for grabs just a block east of the picturesque Woodlawn Cemetery and a quick walk to Van Cortlandt Park. Located right near the 2 and 5 trains, the recently constructed, four-story, eight-unit building at 626 East 223rd Street is offering a $690/month one-bedroom to a household earning 40 percent of the area median income and a $1,200/month two-bedroom to a household earning 60 percent.

Applications for the affordable apartments at 626 East 223rd Street will be accepted until March 15, 2018. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

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Image © 6sqft

Two neighborhoods underserved by transit will get a bit more accessible this summer. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday that construction has officially kicked off for new NYC Ferry landings on the Lower East Side and in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx. Skanska USA will construct four docks at Corlears Hook, East 90th Street and Stuyvesant Cove on the East River as well as at Clason Point Park in Soundview. According to the city, the new LES and Bronx routes will serve more than 1.4 million riders each year.

The Lower East Side route will take riders to Wall Street in nine minutes and to Midtown in 17 minutes. Stops include Wall Street’s Pier 11, Corlears Hook, Stuyvesant Cove, East 34th Street and Long Island City. The total trip is expected to take just 32 minutes.

The Soundview route will better connect Upper East Side and Bronx residents to jobs in Midtown and lower Manhattan. Stops include Clason Point, East 90th Street, East 34th Street and Pier 11. From start to finish, the ride takes under an hour.

De Blasio said the idea behind the NYC Ferry was to increase economic opportunities and link people to other parts of the city. Plus, unlike the construction of new subway lines, the ferry is much faster and simpler way of increasing transit options.

“But here’s the bottom line,” de Blasio said at an event announcing the new docks, “there are so many reasons to like NYC Ferry but again it comes back to the most essential reason. It’s to help us create a fairer city.”

In NYC Ferry’s first operating year in 2017, the system launched four routes in the Rockaways, Astoria, Brooklyn and the East River. During the height of the subway’s meltdown, nearly three million commuters flocked to the ferry, surpassing the city’s original projections by over 30 percent.

This high demand caused the ferry to add six-higher capacity boats, each with larger engines and a 349-passenger capacity. The first three will arrive in the New York Harbor sometime this summer.

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Local Bronx developers Stagg Group filed plans for their second large-scale affordable housing development in the Norwood/Bedford Park neighborhood back in late 2015, and the project is finally complete as its 117 units have just come online via the city’s housing lottery. The 11-story building known as Norwood Garden sits at the intersection of Webster Avenue and the dead-end East 203rd Street and was designed by Marin Architects with a large, rear second-story terrace, as well as several rooftop terraces. The units are available to households earning 60, 90, 100, and 130 percent of the area median income and range from $865/month studios to $2,302/month three-bedrooms.

Stagg bought the site in 2015 for $4.1 million, following a 2011 rezoning of the neighborhood that allowed for mid-density housing along busy Webster Avenue. In addition to the outdoor spaces, amenities include a recreation center, fitness room, and laundry room. There’s about 4,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor and 6,000 square feet of community space, in addition to being just a couple blocks north of the New York Botanical Garden.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the new affordable units at Norwood Garden until May 3, 2018. Fifty percent of units will be set aside for residents of Bronx Community Board 7. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

Renderings via Marin Architects

1903 West Farms Road via JM Zoning

Seven years ago, what was then the largest Bronx rezoning ever was passed for a 17-acre, 11-block area in Crotona Park East. Known as the West Farms Redevelopment Plan, a development for the former industrial area by Dattner Architects, the complex will boast 1,325 units of affordable housing when complete, along with retail and community facilities. A year after the second affordable housing lottery at the site’s Compass Residences went live, the third is now up and running at 1903 West Farms Road. Designed in a similar basic-brick style by Dattner, this building has 152 units up for grabs for households earning 60 percent of the area median income, ranging from $865/month studios to $1,289/month three-bedrooms.

The larger Compass Residences via Dattner Architects

This current lottery brings the total affordability count at Compass up to 386–last February 120 opened up at 1524 Boone Avenue for New Yorkers earning 60 and 90 percent of the area median income, and in December 2016, 114 residences at 1544 Boone Avenue became available, also for those earning 60 percent of the area median income.

1903 West Farms Road offers a resident courtyard, bike storage, coin-operated laundry room, community room, and fitness room. Apartments have stainless steel appliances, granite counters, and ceramic tiles in the hallways and bathrooms.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at Compass Residences until May 7, 2017. Residents of Bronx Community Board 6 will be given preference for 50 percent of the units. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

Shipping container construction, courtesy SG Blocks

A developer is getting creative in his latest affordable housing project in the Bronx. Gold Key Group, which typically develops market-rate housing, teamed up with SG Blocks, a shipping container company, to build 65 to 75 apartments above a retail store and a church. SG Blocks will use shipping containers due to the affordability and quick construction time–the method cuts the building timeline by 40 percent and is 10 to 20 percent less expensive than typical construction, according to Paul Galvin, CEO of SG Blocks. And as amNew York reports, Galvin “hopes this type of construction will become a solution to the housing crisis.”

Williamsburg shipping container home, via a previous Airbnb listing

SG Blocks has built several container-based buildings for companies like Puma, Equinox, and Starbucks. His biggest client, according to a past New York Times article, is the military, which turns containers into housing, mess halls, computer server storage and commissaries. But Galvin strongly believes the containers can translate to smaller-scale housing needs.

This won’t be the first shipping container home to come to New York–the first legal structure was built in Williamsburg, made of six stacked containers totaling 1,600 square feet. (There have also been shipping container used for a retrofitted carriage house to the home of a radio station around the city.)

Containers are a standard size–about eight feet wide–and are then stacked to create housing. The interiors can be insulated and support plumbing and electricity, while the exteriors can be designed to blend in with their surroundings. Finally, they are eco-friendly, meeting international building codes to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes. Containers are viewed by some as a potential solution to the city’s affordable housing crisis because of the cheap and short construction, which would then allow developers to charge less for apartments.

The Bronx proposal still needs to be approved by the city’s Housing and Preservation Department. Many of the details, including income levels for the apartments, are still being worked out. The exact location also can’t be made public yet, because the approval process is not complete.

[Via amNew York]

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Rendering via Aufgang Architects/ Schur Management Company

A housing lottery launched this week for 105 mixed-income units at a newly constructed building in the Mount Hope neighborhood of the Bronx. Designed by Aufgang Architects, the more than 110,000-square-foot complex at 2028 Creston Avenue features 114 residential units and space for retail and community activities. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 30, 40, 50, 60, 90 and 120 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from a studio for $368/month to a three-bedroom for $1,965/month.

The Creston Avenue project falls under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing plan, which has a goal of bringing 300,000 apartments to the city by 2026. When the plan was announced by developer Schur Management in 2015, the Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz Jr., called the complex “the quintessential example of a building that we all want in this neighborhood.”

Amenities at the 11-story development include a laundry room, landscaped outdoor recreation area, community center and study space. There is also an underground parking garage fit for 40 cars.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at 2028 Creston Avenue until May 21, 2018. Fifty percent of units will be set aside for residents of Bronx Community Board 5. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED:

• 13 affordable units up for grabs at new Bushwick rental Lyceum Square, from $856/month
• Six chances to live in the heart of Bushwick, from $1,039/month
• Waiting list opens for 840 more affordable units in Hudson Yards rental complex

Via Heritage Architecture

A South Bronx mixed-use development, dubbed the Thomas and Lilly Keller Manor, launched a housing lottery this week for 65 affordable units. Designed by Heritage Architecture, TLK Manor features two six-story buildings in Morrisania: 917 Westchester Avenue and 944 Rogers Place. The two buildings boast a unified design, seamlessly blending into one another. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from a $860/month studio to a $1,281/month three-bedroom.

The residential community was developed by Brisa Evergreen, an organization that provides affordable housing in low-income neighborhoods. The two parcels of land were sold to the developer from the Evangelical Disciples of Christ Inc. In exchange, the building on Westchester includes more than 14,000 square feet of church sanctuary space on the first and cellar levels. TLK Manor is one of the first affordable housing developments to incorporate a new church unit within its design.

The architects aimed to create a healthy indoor environment by using warm sustainable finishes as well as providing access to an ample amount of natural light. Outside, residents can enjoy the landscaped rooftop and other outdoor spaces.

Additional amenities include a church community facility, storage room, bike room and on-site laundry. Closest transit options include the 2 train and the BX6 bus.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at TLK Manor until May 21, 2018. Fifty percent of units will be set aside for residents of Bronx Community Board 2. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED: 

• 13 affordable units up for grabs at new Bushwick rental Lyceum Square, from $856/month
• Six chances to live in the heart of Bushwick, from $1,039/month
• 150 more affordable apartments up for grabs in the Bronx’s Compass Residences

All renderings courtesy of Heritage Architecture

Rendering of the Peninsula by BLA + WXY

The New York City Council on Thursday unanimously approved the rezoning of 92-blocks along Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, bounded by East 165th Street to the south and 184th Street to the north. As the fourth neighborhood rezoning of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration, the city plans to construct about 4,600 new apartments, adding to the mayor’s goal of bringing 300,000 units of housing to the city by 2026. The council has set aside $189 million in capital investment for workforce development, open space, parks and two new schools (h/t City Limits). A plan to bring even more affordable housing to the Bronx got the green light on Thursday after the Council approved The Peninsula, a $300 million plan to redevelop the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center as a mixed-use development.

Via NYC Planning

In a statement, de Blasio praised council members for their approval of the rezoning measure: “As we work to meet the challenges of a growing city, this plan allows for residential development – including permanently affordable housing – along the Jerome Corridor and makes key investments in businesses, jobs, job training and retraining. I thank Speaker Johnson, Land Use Committee Chair Salamanca, and, last but not least, Council Members Cabrera and Gibson and all Jerome residents who helped us get this plan right.”

The rezoning, which aims to boost residential and commercial development in an area currently zoned for auto-uses, requires a percentage of new development to fall under the city’s mandatory inclusionary housing policy. The Department of City Planning plans to subsidize new construction because rents in the corridor are too low to support market-rate housing.

The plan includes preserving 2,500 units of affordable housing, building a new gym at P.S. 247 as well as a new 458-seat primary school. The city will also provide $1.5 million in resources to help any auto shops that are forced to relocate from the rezoning.

Critics of the rezoning have concerns about the displacement of local businesses along the avenue and the lack of areas that would stay zoned for auto-businesses. During the City Planning Commission vote on the rezoning in January, Commissioner Michelle de La Uz opposed the proposal because of the risk of displacement for workers.

“The city continues to reduce areas zoned for manufacturing throughout the city without a comprehensive assessment of how those changes may cumulatively impact goods and services New Yorkers need and the decent jobs [that could be] lost, [employment accessible] often to immigrants and individuals with limited education. This is inconsistent with the mayor’s 100,000 jobs plan,” de La Uz said, according to City Limits.

Rendering of the Peninsula by BLA + WXY

Rendering of the Peninsula by BLA + WXY

Located on five-acres in Hunts Point, the Peninsula will include 740 units of 100 percent affordable housing, 52,000 square feet of open and recreational and over 50,000 square feet for a community facility and art workspace. Retail space, including Bronx-based businesses like Hunts Point Brewing Company and Lightbox NY film studio, and a wellness center operated by Urban Health Plan will come to the site.

The Peninsula’s construction is planned over three phases, the first expected to wrap up in 2021, the second in 2022 and the third in 2024. About 300 permanent jobs and 1,000 temporary construction jobs are expected to be delivered.

[Via City Limits]

RELATED:

• The Peninsula, a Hunts Point mixed-use complex on former juvenile jail site, gets new renderings
• Mixed-use affordable housing complex in the Bronx will feature Hunts Point Brewery and LightBox film studio
• Shipping containers will bring affordable housing to the Bronx

Photo © Woodlawn Cemetery

Applications are now being accepted for 122 newly constructed, mixed-income apartments at Webster Commons D, one out of five buildings located at 3620 Webster Avenue. The development, which sits across from the sprawling Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, was designed by Aufgang Architects and was chosen as the 2016 Project of the Year by the New York Association for Affordable Housing. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 40, 50, 100, and 110 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from a $519/month studio to a $1,965/month three-bedroom.

Rendering via Aufgang Architects

Woodlawn Cemetery owned the 2.3-acre site of Webster Commons for over more than 100 years before selling it to an LLC in 2008. Now the site contains five buildings that total nearly 500 units of affordable housing. Amenities at D include an on-site resident super, security cameras, on-site laundry, bike storage, parking lot and indoor and outdoor recreational areas.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at Webster Commons D until May 28, 2018. Fifty percent of units will be set aside for residents of Bronx Community Board 12. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED:

• Apply Now For 63 Affordable Units Next to Woodlawn Cemetery, Starting at $865/Month
• Lottery launches for 38 affordable units at an amenity-rich Clinton Hill building, from $735/month
• 21 chances to buy an affordable condo at Extell’s chic Upper East Side tower, from $357K

As 6sqft previously reported, after getting the green light for La Central, a new development that would bring nearly 1,000 units of affordable housing to the site of the Bronx Zoo-bordering Lambert Houses, construction on phase 1 of the project is well underway. Welcome2TheBronx reports that a 160-unit building D at Bergen Avenue and 152nd Street, a supportive housing building for formerly homeless individuals, is almost topped out and is scheduled to be finished by the summer of 2019. Two more buildings in the 992 unit, 1.1-million-square-foot Hudson Companies, Inc, development have broken ground.

Buildings A and B will rise between 149th Street to 151st Streets and Brook and Bergen Avenues. Building A will offer a YMCA; atop the building will be a GrowNYC rooftop farm. Both buildings will have retail space below at street level; completion of these two buildings is set for 2020.

The project, designed by FXCollaborative, falls under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s mandatory inclusionary housing (MIH) legislation an is the biggest project to be approved to date under the MIH rules which require some income restricted apartments in projects that need the city’s approval. The New York City Planning Commission voted unanimously in 2016 to include the Bronx complex in the new affordable housing program. All apartments in the residential complex, which will also include the aforementioned 50,000 square foot Y.M.C.A. and rooftop gardens, a skate park and a rooftop telescope operated by the Bronx High School of Science, are currently intended for low- and middle-income families in order to remain affordable for area residents.

Groundbreaking for buildings C and E is scheduled for next summer; building E at 153rd Street, at 25 stories, will be one of the tallest buildings in the South Bronx and will be the site of the astronomy lab run by Bronx High School of Science. La Central will also offe a new BronxNet studio facility. It is anticipated that the new development will bring thousands of new residents to the neighborhood, most of whom are expected to have significantly higher income levels than current residents, though there will be many units that will remain permanently affordable.

[Via Welcome2TheBronx]

RELATED:

• City Says Yes to Bronx Complex, No to Flatiron Site for Affordable Housing Plan
• Going Green and Curbing Gentrification: How the Bronx Is Doing It Differently
• The Bronx Dethrones Brooklyn for Most Residential Permits Issued

Images courtesy of FXCollaborative.

An original rendering of 2401 Third Avenue via Hill West Architects

Somerset Partners and Chetrit Group have sold their massive South Bronx waterfront site to Brookfield Properties for $165 million, the priciest transaction for a development in the Bronx on record. As the New York Post reported, the project includes two sites on either side of the Third Avenue Bridge. At 2401 Third Avenue, original plans called for a 25-story standalone tower and a 25-story and 16-story building rising from an eight-story base. Developers also planned to bring three 24-story buildings and a 22-story building on top of a six – and seven-story base at the second site at 101 Lincoln Avenue.

An original rendering of 101 Lincoln Avenue via Hill West Architects

Designed by Hill West Architects, the sprawling project called for six residential towers and park space on two parcels of land. The Third Avenue site, which commenced construction last year, had plans for 430 mixed-income rentals, a 42,000 square foot community space and a 175-car garage.

The 101 Lincoln Avenue site would take up the full block south of the bridge and contain 849 rentals, over 20,000 square feet of retail and a community facility within the complex. A shared courtyard would connect the two sites. The entire development is located within the Special Harlem River Waterfront District, a revitalization of the waterfront led by the city.

Whichever architecture firm Brookfield taps for the new project will most likely tweak the original design from Hill West.

[Via Welcome2TheBronx; NY Post]

RELATED: 

• More renderings, details released for massive South Bronx waterfront development
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• See how Keith Rubenstein’s trio of South Bronx towers will transform the ‘Piano District’ skyline

Via NY Transit Museum

Before the Woodlawn station opened a century ago, the surrounding area of Norwood in the Bronx was mostly rural with lots of farmland. While residential development began with the opening of the Woodlawn Cemetery, the neighborhood’s transformation really took off when the subway was extended to reach this part of the city. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first train pulling into the northern terminal of the IRT Jerome Avenue Line, the New York Transit Museum is giving guests the chance to travel on World War I-era cars to relive this important part of subway history.

Photo of IRT Jerome Avenue Line via Wikimedia

Built in 1917, Woodlawn station was designed by the subway’s chief architect, Squire Vickers. Vickers covered the station with ornamental concrete due to its location at the intersection of a major boulevard. It connects passengers to either side of the streets and the interior features classic ceramic tiles.

Woodlawn station, named after Woodlawn Road but more known for its association to the cemetery with the same name, officially opened on April 15, 1918. The subway extension spurred development and turned the former rural area into a suburban enclave.

Photo courtesy of Woodlawn Cemetery 

During its Nostalgia Ride on Sunday, April 15, the museum will take guests uptown to Woodlawn via Lo-V subway cars, the same method in which 19th-century New Yorkers traveled. The event includes a three-hour tour of the historic Woodlawn Cemetry, a designated city landmark, to learn about the famous residents buried there. Plus, the tour details how the arrival of the subway changed the demographics of both the neighborhood and the cemetery.

Tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for children. Museum members pay $35 for adults and $20 for children. Find more information about the event and buy tickets here.

RELATED: 

• What it was like the day the NYC subway opened in 1904
• In the 20th century, the subway system used professional sniffers to keep New Yorkers safe
• This Map Explains the Historic Tile Color System Used in NYC Subway Stations