On the site of a historic elementary school dating back to the late 1890s in the Mott Haven neighborhood of New York’s South Bronx, a new mixed-use high-rise is giving back to the surrounding community in the same vein that Public School 31 did.
Developed by Trinity Financial and nonprofit partner MBD Community Housing Corp., 425 Grand Concourse is providing much-needed affordable housing to a wide range of households, ranging from 30% to 130% of the area median income; the development received approximately 65,000 applications for its 277 units. In addition, 10% of the units are set aside for formerly homeless individuals and families.
Residents of the 26-story development have access to a variety of amenities, including laundry facilities on each floor, bicycle storage, a fitness center, an outdoor recreation deck, an outdoor rooftop garden, and community rooms. Free buildingwide Wi-Fi access also is available.
The development goes much further to serve the surrounding community. It incorporates a Federally Qualified Health Center operated by the Damian Family Care Center to address health concerns for people with low incomes; a newly designed City University of New York Hostos Community College space for its Accelerated Study in Associate Programs that gives financial resources and academic support to low-income students; a neighborhood supermarket; a 1,200-square-foot cultural center; and a redeveloped city park and playground. All of the facilities are expected to be up and running by mid-2024.
“We’re happy to see the increase in development and reinvigoration of the South Bronx, and we’re also happy to see the joy in the residents’ faces as they move into their new homes,” says Thomas Brown, vice president at Trinity Financial. “We’re also happy to provide a platform that includes affordable health care, affordable food, and cultural services as well as educational services for a community that needs it.”
Designed by Dattner Architects and constructed by Monadnock Construction, the development tackles state and global needs. It is touted as the largest passive house development in the U.S. Certified by Phius, the passive house development will consume up to 70% less energy than a conventional residential building. The high-efficiency energy-recovery heating and cooling systems, combined with an airtight and well-insulated building envelope, as well as energy recovery ventilation help to reduce its energy and carbon footprint. With high asthma rates in the community, filtered, ventilated air goes into the apartments’ living spaces.
Future-proofing also was a priority for the team since the area has been impacted by prior weather events. Features include gas-fired emergency power for the elevators, potable water, emergency lighting, and life safety systems.
