2050 Grand Concourse

Organization Name: Unique People Services

Project Title: 2050 Grand Concourse

Project Location: 2050 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY

Project Goals:
Unique People Services, Inc. (UPS) is a New York-based nonprofit which offers transitional and permanent housing for formerly homeless persons with HIV/AIDS, long-term and permanent housing for formerly homeless persons with a mental illness, and permanent housing for adults with developmental disabilities. 2050 grand Concourse is a 94 unit mixed-use, mixed-population and mixed-income supportive housing building that will further the UPS mission to offer services and housing for those in need.

Project Description:
The newly constructed, 13-story, approximately 87,000 SF building will contain 94 units including 30 for low income families, 10 for middle income families, 28 single units for adults living with HIV/AIDS and 26 single adults with chronic mental illness. On three floors, 10,000 SF of community facility space will house the relocated headquarters and social service programs for Unique People Services. The development will include an on-site laundry room on the ground-floor opening onto a landscaped outdoor terrace in the rear yard, a community room on the 11th floor, opening onto a landscaped terrace, and a bicycle storage room in the basement.

Community Impact:
As a transit-oriented mixed-use, mixed-income development, 2050 Grand Concourse will provide apartments for low-income households being priced out of the area, bring higher earning households into the area, and leverage the spending power of 48 UPS employees (including 8 building and support service staff for the residential portion of the building) to invigorate local businesses. As a gateway building, 2050 Grand Concourse will combine UPS’s office space and community service facilities with residential apartments, thus activating a vacant portion of an otherwise vibrant commercial corridor along East Burnside Avenue. By locating the entrance to UPS’s space on East Burnside, separate from the residential main entrance on Grand Concourse, the design respects the historic and residential aspects of the Grand Concourse. Both components address key aspects of several community revitalization and historic preservation efforts in Community Board 5 and along the Grand Concourse.

Organization Description:
UPS is a Bronx, New York based not-for-profit 501(c)3 corporation founded in 1991. It operates 21 supportive housing programs in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Westchester County, and each year more than 500 persons stay within its residences. UPS offers both transitional and permanent housing for formerly homeless persons with HIV/AIDS, long-term and permanent housing for formerly homeless persons with a mental illness, and permanent housing for adults with developmental disabilities. Robert Sanborn Development are expert builders with decades of affordable housing finance and project management experience. We partner with nonprofits and other for-profits to deliver LEED certified, service enriched affordable developments. Magnusson Architecture and Planning is a comprehensive design firm based in New York City. For over 30 years MAP has created thriving and sustainable communities through excellence in design and planning and specializes in multi-family residences.