NEW YORK CITY-Almost 20 years ago, Debbie Kenyon, COO of Larchmont, NY-based L+M Development, remembers the burnt out buildings, shuttered stores and contaminated sites in the 35-block Melrose Commons urban renewal area of the South Bronx. But today, the area has turned a corner, now home to La Terraza, an eight-story 107-unit affordable housing complex at 481 E. 158th St. On Wednesday, the building received the New York City Brownfield Partnership’s 2011 “Big Apple Brownfield Award,” commending L+M’s environmental remediation and redevelopment efforts here.
“It is very rewarding to take land and turn it around,” Kenyon tells GlobeSt.com, thanking the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York City Office of Environmental Remediation and the NYC Brownfield Partnership for providing oversight and support of the cleanup efforts. “I have seen the neighborhood change dramatically to now.”
Years ago, the site fell under the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Cornerstone program, a municipally run multifamily initiative designed to attract mixed-income development on city-owned land. Before construction began in 2009, the largely-vacant site contained an abandoned single-story building previously utilized as a dry cleaner, store and upholstery business. After L+M, Procida Realty and Construction Corp., We Stay/Nos Quedamos Committee Inc., and Melrose Associates formed a joint venture, they applied and were accepted into the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Brownfield Cleanup Program.
Kenyon describes the most difficult task in the entire process was the environmental investigation, where contaminated soil and groundwater was found. “The soil is something we deal with quite frequently, especially in urban areas that have a lot of metals,” she says. “It is very typical to have soil issues, but the groundwater was more of a challenge on this project.”
Now completed, the mixed-use building is allocated for families and individuals earning less than 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), which is $79,200 for a family of four in the borough. The site features 1,246 square feet of community space, 8,990 square feet of retail space and 40 parking spaces.
The South Bronx market overall is undergoing a revitalization period under the New York City Economic Development Corp.’s South Bronx Initiative, which was released in summer 2008 after a two-year community visioning process. The renewal plan for Melrose Commons notes that all remaining city-owned sites should be developed into mixed-use affordable housing. New retail spaces, upgrades to Roberto Clemente Plaza at East 149th Street and development of new parks are also on the agenda here.
But despite concerns about a glut of housing in the neighborhood, the demand for affordable space remains high. “Within the last five years, there was a lot of affordable housing built in this area of the Bronx,” Kenyon says. “We began to be concerned, from a market perspective, that perhaps there was an oversupply of housing,” she says. “But the demand seems to be constant, so perhaps the economy has rejuvenated the demand for affordable housing, even though there’s been a lot of new housing stock added.”
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
