2850 Webster Avenue

Organization Name: SBJ Group

Project Title: 2850 Webster Avenue

Project Location: 2850 Webster Avenue, adjacent to the New York Botanical Garden, in the Bedford Park neighborhood of Bronx Community District 7.

Project Description:
2850 Webster Avenue is a new 12-story 133,000-sf mixed-use building comprised of 188 senior affordable residential units and over 4,500 square feet in common programming including a fitness room, lounges, and several roof terraces for the building's residents. The terraces include a green roof and urban gardening planters, programmed to encourage the senior residents to socialize and stay engaged in enjoyable activities supporting better physical and mental health through the aging process. On-site social services are provided by Fordham Bedford Community Services, often organizing activities for residents in these community spaces. The ground floor houses a 12,000-sf grocery store, developed under the NYC FRESH (Food Retail Expansion to Support Health) program, providing residents with direct access to a grocery store, while supporting the longstanding local grocery purveyor, Cherry Valley Marketplace. Through the changing seasons, residents enjoy the amazing views of the neighboring New York Botanical Gardens. Taking a cue from the nearby Garden, the interiors are designed with nature as its theme; bringing the Garden into the materials, color pallet and artwork.

Community Impact:
The senior residents and the greater local community have been ever-present throughout the years of design and construction of 2850 Webster. This project is much more than a building, its effect permeates the neighborhood, while the lives of its senior residents are enriched by local community programs. Creative partnerships with the New York Botanical Garden provides residents with opportunities for socialization, public engagement and outdoor activity, and the same thoughtfulness placed into the design of individual units was incorporated into gathering spaces within the building to enhance these concepts.
Douglaston pursued a phased approach that allowed the existing grocer to retain operations throughout the construction process, guaranteeing that the local community maintained access to fresh food options in a neighborhood that has been historically underserved in this regard. The collaboration between Douglaston Development, SBJ Group, The New York Botanical Garden, New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), New York City Department of Housing Preservation (HPD), elected officials, community business leaders and stakeholders were vital to the project’s ultimate success.

Organization Description:
SBJ Group and Douglaston Development have collaborated for decades on numerous successful housing projects in communities across New York. Community engagement and partnership was vital to the successful completion of 2850 Webster Avenue, with the project serving as an exemplary example of City, State, and private entities banding together to bring a much-needed housing resource to fruition in a neighborhood where it was crucially needed.

Team Members:

SBJ Group: Isaac-Daniel Astrachan, Gavri Slasky, CY Kim, Lidia Kim
Douglaston Development, Levine Builders, IM Robbins, McNamara Salvia, Langan, VHB, AKRF, Steven Winter Associates, JAM Consultants