153 Nevins Street

Organization Name: Fifth Avenue Committee

Project Title: 153 Nevins Street

Project Location: Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, NY

Project Description:
One of the two winning proposals for HPD’s Nevins and Third RFP, 153 Nevins Street will transform an underutilized city-owned parking lot in Boreum Hill into 70 units of affordable housing along with community workforce training services. Developed by Fifth Avenue Committee and designed by Magnusson Architecture and Planning, the 10-story building will complement the surrounding neighborhood with a contextual brick exterior, a 7th floor setback that aligns the scale of the base with nearby structures, and a small setback at the property line that shifts the building back from the sidewalk and accommodates a landscaped buffer along the street. Amenities include a community room, a laundry room, bike storage, and a planted rear yard. The project is designed to Passive House standards, featuring a high-performance envelope, packaged terminal heat pumps (PTHPs), energy recovery ventilation (ERV), sunshades on the south façade, and onsite solar photovoltaics. An emergency generator will allow the community room to act as an area of refuge during outages, while green roofs and permeable outdoor surfaces will help manage stormwater.

Community Impact:
With a combination of workforce development programs, deeply and permanently affordable homes, and climate resilience strategies, 153 Nevins directly addresses some of the most pressing issues in New York City. Approximately 21 out of the 70 apartments will be reserved for formerly homeless individuals and families. The remaining homes will be available to households earning at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI) through the NYC Housing Lottery. Brooklyn Workforce Innovations (BWI) will provide job training classes and employment programs in approximately 3,000 square feet of community facility space, a resource that will help combat job insecurity and promote economic justice. In addition to occupying the new job training space, BWI plans to employ graduates of their woodworking training program to manufacture and install the sustainable cabinetry used at 153 Nevins, ensuring that the project’s construction supports the broader social and economic goals of its programs. Passive survivability measures like Passive House design, stormwater mitigation, renewable energy, and backup power contribute to the climate resilience of the community.

Organization Description:
Fifth Avenue Committee’s mission is to advance economic, social, and racial justice in NYC through integrated, community-centered affordable housing, grassroots organizing, policy advocacy, and transformative education, training and services that build the power to shape the community’s future. FAC builds physical infrastructure; fosters community through organizing; and transforms the lives of individuals and families with direct services. FAC has developed over 1,400 affordable homes and has a development pipeline totaling more than 2,000 units.

Team Members:

Fifth Avenue Committee
Magnusson Architecture & Planning (MAP)