Melrose Concourse. Bronx
Claremont Parkway
Washington Avenue
Gouverneur Place
Melrose Concourse transforms three infill lots into three new affordable housing buildings with units dedicated to seniors, other individuals, and families, including households leaving shelters. The four to ten-story buildings are within a mile of each other on Claremont Parkway, Washington Avenue, and Gouverneur Place. A critical thread of the project is to ensure every building’s design responds to each site’s immediate context, while façade details like natural brick and wood accents establish a cohesive identity for the development. Despite the compact, irregular shape of the lots, each building plan leverages clear sightlines, interconnected communal spaces, and varied sources of daylight to create a sense of openness and foster interaction between residents.
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The 9,000 SF, 4-story, 8-unit building has 1- and 2-bedroom apartments. The building includes a laundry room at the cellar, a landscaped rear yard at the ground floor, and a recreational roof terrace. To maximize the trapezoidal site and blend in with the single-story neighbors, the building’s mass is broken down into three parts with a central stair flanked by apartments on each side. With a glazed curtain wall extending from the lobby to the bulkhead, the central stair functions as a lightwell, bringing daylight to the tapered rear of the building. Inspired by the nearby Claremont Park, planters at grade will provide a buffer between the building and the street.
The building exceeds 2020 Enterprise Green Community standards and features energy-efficient plumbing fixtures, appliances, healthy materials, dark sky-compliant exterior lighting, and all-electric systems for heating and cooling.
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The 35,000 SF, 9-story, 34-unit building has studio,1-, and 2-bedroom affordable apartments, and a bright, ground floor community room. Twelve (12) units are dedicated to seniors. We took advantage of the site’s rearward slope to bring daylight from the landscape rear yard to the cellar-level laundry room, bicycle room, and tenant services office. Private terraces on the 8th and 9th floors provide additional outdoor spaces for select units. Taking cues from its historic neighbors, the building mass is broken down into two large towers within which textured brick piers further accentuate their verticality. A contemporary take on the ornamentation of the local historical facades, the brick detailing continues down to grade for residents and locals to experience. The main entrance boasts a deep and generous entry recess and landscaping that serves as a transition from public street to private residence.
The building exceeds 2020 Enterprise Green Community standards and features energy-efficient plumbing fixtures, appliances, healthy materials, dark sky-compliant exterior lighting, and all-electric systems for heating and cooling. Additionally, a rooftop emergency backup generator ensures safety and resiliency for the mixed-population community.
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The 32,000 SF, 10-story, 30-unit building provides studio, 1-, and 2-bedroom affordable apartments; eleven (11) units are dedicated to seniors. The building features daylit corridors and communal spaces, including the ground community room adjacent to the bike room and landscaped rear yard, the 7th floor laundry room with direct egress onto the outdoor terrace, and the 8th floor fitness room stacked above. Borrowing design elements from the other two buildings, the façade includes wood accents and projected brick bands that accentuate window openings and continue through to grade.
The building exceeds 2020 Enterprise Green Community standards and features energy-efficient plumbing fixtures, appliances, healthy materials, dark sky-compliant exterior lighting, and all-electric systems for heating and cooling. Additionally, a rooftop emergency backup generator ensures safety and resiliency for the mixed-population community.
Client: Settlement Housing Fund and the Beechwood Organization.
Agency: NYC HPD.
Program: residential (affordable, senior housing).
Size: Claremont Parkway (9,000 SF, 8 units, 4 stories); Washington Avenue (35,000 SF, 34 units, 9 stories); Gouverneur Place (32,000 SF, 30 units, 10 stories).
Team: Landscape: RKLA Studio. Structural: Silman. M/E/P: Loring Consulting Engineers. Energy: Bright Power. BPP/Civil: Hartland Engineering. Lighting: Goldstick Studio. Co-Developer/General Contractor: Beechwood Organization.