West Brighton Houses: Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse in Public Housing

Organization Name: BFC Partners

Project Title: West Brighton Houses: Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse in Public Housing

Project Location: West Brighton, Staten Island

Project Description:
West Brighton proved that public housing preservation can protect historic character and deliver a fundamentally better product for residents. Through a $332M RAD conversion, BFC and CB Emmanuel rehabilitated 586 units, upgrading apartments, building systems, façades, roofs and elevators to maintain historic features with sustainable design improvements. With adaptive reuse in mind, a vacant 9,000 SF building was redeveloped as a senior center. A community space was restored to its original midcentury design, reopening a cantilevered teak ceiling hidden for decades. A maintenance area became a tenant association office and food pantry. Underused storage rooms next to building lobbies were converted into mail and package rooms and onsite laundry. Outside, resident feedback reshaped the grounds. In place of an unused basketball court, the team created vibrant micro-spaces serving children and adults, with permeable paving, native plantings, and durable recycled-content materials. The result demonstrates that preservation, resident-centric design and sustainability are not competing goals: the same discipline that protected the campus architecture also produced amenities residents lacked for generations.

Community Impact:
Where residents used to walk more than a mile to the nearest laundromat, new laundry rooms mean they no longer need to leave the building. New mail and package rooms give residents a secure, convenient place to receive deliveries and the resident association office and pantry give tenant leadership a visible home on campus while expanding on-site food access.
The rebuilt senior center, operated with Catholic Charities, provides services for older residents and frees space in the main community center for a youth center programmed and operated by United Activities Unlimited. Open to West Brighton residents and the surrounding area, the youth center offers year-round educational enrichment, recreation, and leadership programs.
Play spaces are disability-informed, with inclusive designs including musical instruments, wood play fixtures, sensory play tools, and wheelchair-accessible elements for children with developmental and physical disabilities. Resident-centered relocation planning with Housing Opportunities Unlimited also returned all households within 30 days without construction delay and local workers monitored by Renaissance Group performed 31% of construction labor, 6% above target.

Organization Description:
The project was delivered through a creative partnership. BFC and its principals have delivered over $5B in development and construction and built or rehabilitated 15,000+ homes, with a $1B development pipeline. Through resident-driven design, social-service partnerships, local hiring, and MWBE contracting, BFC transcends housing investment into lasting neighborhood benefits and economic opportunity. CB Emmanuel is an NYC-based MWBE affordable housing developer specializing in construction, rehabilitation, preservation, and property management.

Team Members:

BFC Partners, CB Emmanuel, Housing Opportunities Unlimited, United Activities Unlimited, Catholic Charities, W Architecture, OCV Architects