Park House

Organization Name: Breaking Ground

Project Title: Park House

Project Location: 4275 Park Avenue in the Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx (10457)

Project Goals:
Breaking Ground’s fundamental goal for our Park House development is to create an affordable permanent residence in which low- and very low- income New Yorkers who are at greatest risk of losing their housing can safely call home over an extended period of time, including families with young children. This project is therefore at its core meant to be a resource in which economically-vulnerable individuals can have a solid foundation for building secure, productive and happy lives. Breaking Ground further- more set out to develop a structure of highest quality design in all re- spects, both in terms of aesthetics inside and out, and environmental sus- tainability features, that would contribute to community revitalization of the Tremont neighborhood in the Bronx.

Project Description:
PPark House is a 12-story, 248-unit, 243,760 square foot, $86 million multi-family structure currently under construction on a piece of land that was previously occupied by a vacant warehouse. When completed in Summer 2017, Park House will offer a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments to accommodate a diverse tenancy of low- and very low-income individuals and families. Park House apartments will range in size from 425 to 990 square feet, depending on bedroom count, each of which will be ADA-compliant. Additionally, Park House will include a multi-purpose room; laundry facilities; bicycle storage; and a large exterior landscaped garden. Our building designer is COOKFOX Architects. The garden designer is Terrain NYC. Partners on this development include New York City HPD and HDC, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. When completed, Park House will be an Enterprise Green Communities certified structure.

Community Impact:
4275 Park Avenue is being created to have a meaningful impact on the quality of life for and security of among New York’s most economically- vulnerable residents. New York is experiencing a resurgence of homelessness. This development is meant to prevent homelessness for people who are at greatest risk of being priced out of New York City’s expensive rental market, including families with school aged children. In these ways, 4275 Park Avenue will contribute to the viability of New York City as a home for all populations, no matter what their financial circumstances. From a neighborhood perspective, 4275 Park Avenue will add a building of highest aesthetic and sustainability values to a lot that was disused and, for too long, represented a blighted site for an area of the Bronx in need of renewal.

Organization Description:
Breaking Ground, the developer and general partner/owner of 4275 Park Avenue, is New York State’s largest provider of street outreach and permanent supportive housing for homeless and low-income populations. Our not-for-profit was founded in 1990 to restore and reconfigure the Times Square Hotel on West 43rd Street in Manhattan into a 652-unit supportive residence. When completed, the Times Square Residence was the single largest such site in the country and still holds that distinction today. Over the ensuing years, Breaking Ground has grown to manage 19 properties, mostly permanent housing, with a complement of transitional sites to enable the longest term homeless to ultimately attain and sustain permanent stability. Over these years, Breaking Ground has worked with some of the most distinguished architects in the United States to develop our various projects, including Ennead, Alexander Gorlin Architects and Robert A.M. Stern Architects, among others.