New Supportive and Affordable Housing Coming to The Bronx

NYCHA, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and the NYC Housing Development Corporation recently finalized a deal that will bring 171 new affordable and supportive apartments to the Morrisania section of The Bronx. Construction on the new Melrose North development will begin in January 2021, on previously underutilized NYCHA-owned land.

When completed, Melrose North will be located on Courtlandt Avenue between East 162nd Street and East 163rd Street in The Bronx on a site that currently houses a NYCHA waste facility.
“Bringing new construction projects to underutilized NYCHA sites allows us to simultaneously balance the city’s need for more affordable housing stock alongside the Authority’s need for more funding to advance necessary capital renovations,” said NYCHA’s Executive for Real Estate Development Jonathan Gouveia.

The new building was designed by Curtis + Ginsberg Architects and will be developed by Bronx Pro Group and Services for the Underserved (S:US). Melrose North will feature 51 studio apartments, 53 one-bedroom apartments, 55 two-bedroom apartments, and 11 three-bedroom apartments as well as one superintendent apartment, with 103 apartments set aside for homeless households and the remaining 67 apartments available to households earning at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income. The supportive housing apartments will be set aside for individuals and households that are homeless, victims of domestic violence, or suffering from substance abuse or mental health disorders. NYCHA residents will be given preference for 17 of the apartments.
Amenities will include community and computer rooms, an outdoor gym, laundry rooms, a play area, a community garden, and a sun terrace on the 11th floor of the 12-story building.

SU:S’s social services will also be housed on the ground floor of the building, offering supportive services to residents in need. In addition to the supportive services space, Melrose North will feature approximately 5,000 square feet of community space for a youth arts education facility operated by the DreamYard Project.

Bronx Pro Group and S:US will work closely with BronxWorks to train NYCHA residents in relevant construction skills and employ them throughout the construction process.

Melrose North will feature Passive House energy-efficiency standards, resulting in 60 to 70 percent less energy consumption compared to the average New York City apartment building. The development will also feature a convenient, new public ADA-accessible ramp to the northbound Metro-North station adjacent to the site and a new permanent waste facility on the ground floor of the development to replace the current waste facility on the project site.

Photo caption: Rendering of Melrose North, a new affordable and supportive housing development in Morrisania, Bronx (photo credit: Bronx Pro Group LLC and Services for the Underserved)