Along with providing a permanent home for RWA, the redevelopment project will enable the nonprofit to add more staff and increase its client from the current 3,000 local residents to about 10,000, says a release from NYCEDC. The redevelopment of the firehouse will allow RWA to expand its existing programs and add new initiatives such as programming for seniors, green-collar job training, outdoor film screenings and a Saturday farmer's market.

RWA's proposal for the 78-year-old structure calls for a "great hall" for projects and events, catering facilities, an organic café, classrooms for after-school programs and job training, a roof garden and basement aquaculture center, along with rental space for other community events. The proposed project will seek to preserve the character and appearance of the former firehouse, and RWA is aiming for LEED certification.

The selection of RWA is the latest result of the Bloomberg administration's 2007 initiative to reuse and redevelop decommissioned firehouse sites. In January, NYCEDC announced that the Brooklyn Philharmonic had been selected to redevelop a former firehouse at 299 Degraw St. in Brooklyn's Cobble Hill section.