Care Found Here – Blondell Avenue Shelter

Organization Name: ESKW/Architects; Care for the Homeless; Foremost Real Estate

Project Title: Care Found Here - Blondell Avenue Shelter

Project Location: Westchester, Bronx.

Project Description:
Care Found Here – Blondell Avenue Shelter is a new 3-story, 34,000 SF purpose-built men’s shelter in the Bronx providing 200 beds and onsite social services by Care for the Homeless. Designed as a bright, welcoming, and secure environment, the entrance features a generous porch with benches, a glazed vestibule, and a window wall overlooking a landscaped patio with additional seating. The lobby’s reception desk provides clear sightlines to the porch, recreation and dining rooms, and the social services suite. Both recreation and dining areas open onto an enclosed, planted yard along Ponton Avenue for safe outdoor gatherings. Dormitories on the upper floors form two wings, each with four rooms of 6–14 beds, its own bathrooms, and shared spaces fostering connected micro-communities. Security desks on each floor have views down dorm corridors and through the recreation room to the laundry. The roof features green space and a sheltered terrace. The façade mirrors the plan: blue and green EIFS panels define each wing, while grey brick highlights communal spaces. The building meets 2020 Enterprise Green Community standards and includes a gas-fired hydronic heating system and emergency generator.

Community Impact:
Care Found Here-Blondell Avenue Shelter represents a vital step in Care for the Homeless’ mission to address homelessness through integrated, trauma-informed, community-based care. By co-locating transitional housing and a certified community health clinic, the project reduces the barriers that many homeless New Yorkers face in accessing consistent, high-quality medical and social services. The facility not only provides a safe and stable temporary home for 200 men but also extends healthcare and support to the surrounding community. Its welcoming design and thoughtful outdoor spaces foster dignity, safety, and connection, helping residents rebuild independence and stability. As both a shelter and a neighborhood resource, the project embodies a holistic approach to combating homelessness and strengthening public health in the Westchester area of the Bronx.

Organization Description:
Care For the Homeless is a NYC-based nonprofit with nearly 40 years of experience in providing medical, mental, and behavioral health care and housing. The organization currently operates 27 health care sites and 5 shelters and safe havens. Since 1960, ESKW/Architects has collaborated with mission-driven organizations to design and build shelter, educational spaces, cultural institutions and healthcare facilities for all New Yorkers.

Team Members:

Landscape: Billie Cohen. Lighting: Jim Conti Lighting Design. Structural: ADG. Geotechnical/SOE: JZN. Mechanical: 2L Engineering. Civil: AWZ Engineering. General Contractor: KSK Construction Group.