flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Bronx residents get LEED Platinum public housing complex, rooftop farm

Bronx residents get LEED Platinum public housing complex, rooftop farm

$37.7 million affordable housing development combines local/recycled materials and a 'green wall' in the lobby.


By BD+C Staff | February 27, 2013
Residents of energy-efficient complex will reap the benefits of hydropon farm.
Residents of energy-efficient complex will reap the benefits of a hydroponic farm.

The New York City Housing Authority has opened Arbor House, a 124-unit complex in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx. The LEED Platinum building includes energy-efficient HVAC, a "green wall" lobby feature, and a 10,000-sf hydroponic farm on the roof.

Designed by ABS Architects, the $37.7 million facility is the result of a collaboration between the NYCHA, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and Blue Sea Development. The public-private initiative was part of a city program to recruit private companies to develop dilapidated and vacant NYCHA land. About 2,000 units in the program are currently under construction or in pre-development in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn.

Arbor House, an eight-story building, contains 16 studios, 33 one-bedroom apartments, and 75 two-bedroom apartments, plus superintendent quarters. Residents must earn less than 60% of the area median income ($49,800 for a family of four). Residents will start moving in during the next few weeks. HPD spokesperson RuthAnne Visnauskas says the city is pushing for more sustainable design in its public housing facilities. The rooftop farm, a first for the agency, will be operated by third party Sky Vegetables and is expected to generate money by selling produce commercially, with some of the yield set aside for building residents and other local families.

About $37 million of the project cost was subsidized via local, state, and city subsidies, Reso A funds, tax credit equities, and tax-exempt bonds. 

(http://observer.com/2013/02/an-arbor-in-the-forest-green-affordable-housing-development-opens-in-the-bronx/)

Related Stories

Healthcare Facilities | Jun 13, 2022

University of Kansas Health System cancer care floors foster community and empathy

On three floors of Cambridge Tower A at The University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, patients being treated for blood cancers have a dedicated space that not only keeps them safe during immune system comprising treatments, but also provide feelings of comfort and compassion.

Building Team | Jun 13, 2022

Ware Malcomb promotes Matt Chaiken to vice president

Ware Malcomb, an award-winning international design firm, today announced that Matt Chaiken has been promoted to Vice President in the firm’s Denver office.

Building Team | Jun 13, 2022

Partnership rethinks emergency shelters to turn them into sustainable, resilient homes

Holcim and the Norman Foster Foundation have struck a partnership to rethink emergency shelters to turn them into sustainable and resilient homes.

Building Team | Jun 13, 2022

A mixed-used building to rise above Fort Lauderdale, with views of downtown and the ocean

ODA, a New York-based architecture and design studio, recently released renderings of Ombelle, a project including two residential towers in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 

Office Buildings | Jun 13, 2022

San Antonio’s electric utility HQ to transform into a modern office building

In San Antonio, Tex., the former headquarters of CPS Energy, the city’s electric utility, is slated to transform into 100,000 square feet of office and retail space on San Antonio’s famed River Walk.

Cultural Facilities | Jun 10, 2022

After 10 Years, Taiwan’s new Taipei Music Center Reaches the Finish Line

RUR Architecture has finished the Taipei Music Center (TMC), turning a 22-acre (9-hectare) site into a new urban arts district.

Building Technology | Jun 9, 2022

GSA Green Proving Ground program selects six innovative building technologies for evaluation

The U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Green Proving Ground program, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, has selected six innovative building technologies for evaluation in GSA’s inventory.

University Buildings | Jun 9, 2022

IDEA Factory at U. of Maryland defies gravity

The E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory at the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering has a gravity-defying form: The seven-story building’s solid upper floors emerge above the lighter, mostly glass base.

Multifamily Housing | Jun 9, 2022

Cityview's Adam Perry on multifamily housing innovation in the Western U.S.

Adam Perry, SVP of Development and Construction Management with developer Cityview, chats with Multifamily Design+Construction Editor Rob Cassidy about the latest design and construction innovations for multifamily housing in the West. 

Libraries | Jun 8, 2022

Welcome to the hybrid library

Libraries have grown to become the intellectual and social hubs of campus, where, prior to March 2020, students, researchers, and faculty gathered to collaborate and connect.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




Resiliency

U.S. is reducing floodplain development in most areas

The perception that the U.S. has not been able to curb development in flood-prone areas is mostly inaccurate, according to new research from climate adaptation experts. A national survey of floodplain development between 2001 and 2019 found that fewer structures were built in floodplains than might be expected if cities were building at random.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021