1561 Walton Avenue

Organization Name: Settlement Housing Fund / The Briarwood Organization

Project Title: 1561 Walton Avenue

Project Location: Mt. Eden / Bronx

Project Goals:
1561 Walton Avenue is Settlement Housing Fund’s latest affordable housing development at New Settlement Apartments in the southwest Bronx, where the nonprofit developer now owns 18 residential buildings with 1,082 units, including 30% set aside for homeless families. The project, co-developed with The Briarwood Organization, creates 60 new units of high quality, energy efficient affordable housing for households earning from 40% to 90% of area median income, as well as for 9 homeless families, with additional outdoor and community program space. The project adds to the affordable housing stock in Mt. Eden and continues Settlement Housing Fund’s mission to create quality permanent housing for mixed income households and homeless families. 1561 Walton also launches a new affordable housing development pipeline to help meet the community’s need for deeper affordability in an area bordering the Jerome Avenue rezoning district.

Project Description:
Built on the site of a former New Settlement parking lot, the 11 story project includes one studio, 19 one-bedroom, 30 two-bedroom, and 9 three-bedroom apartments, for very low- to moderate-income households, including 8 families leaving shelters and one from Settlement Housing Fund’s longer term transitional housing. The modern and bright residence, designed by Edelman Sultan Knox Wood / Architects benefits from natural lighting in corridors and a generous rooftop terrace, as well as a landscaped rear garden. Energy-efficient lighting and appliances, low-flow plumbing fixtures and an insulated building envelope ensure the project’s sustainability through the 50-year term of affordability. The project participates in the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Multifamily Performance Program with the goal of reducing standard energy consumption by 15%, and will exceed standards for the Enterprise Green Communities program.

Community Impact:
The project is part of Settlement Housing Fund's larger New Settlement Apartment complex of buildings, which provides a neighborhood-based approach to housing and includes a wide array of community programming. Residents can take advantage of numerous education, workforce and wellness programs offered by New Settlement throughout the neighborhood, including on-site access to college and financial aid application assistance. The building’s 400-square-foot community room will serve as the adjunct site for the adjacent New Settlement College Access Center, which helps hundreds of high school students and adults gain entrance to college each year. 1561 Walton brings fresh architecture, new jobs, and an additional 60 families to the neighborhood.

Organization Description:
Settlement Housing Fund, a 48 year-old nonprofit affordable housing and community development organization, took ownership of the 14 original New Settlement buildings in 1990, and has continued to preserve and add to the community’s stock of affordable housing and community program space, including the New Settlement Community Campus. The organization has also created and maintains concentrations of high-quality housing with programs on the Lower East Side, in Upper Manhattan, and in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and provides education, job training and aftercare services to help young adults and homeless families gain access to employment and permanent affordable housing. Briarwood’s family-owned and operated company also takes a long-term approach toward each development, recognizing that their core enterprises are contingent on the future growth and evolution of the neighborhoods they build in.