3500 Park Apartments

Organization Name: ESKW/Architects

Project Title: 3500 Park Apartments

Project Location: 3500 Park Avenue. Bronx, NY 10456

Project Description:
Located in the Claremont Village neighborhood of the Bronx, 3500 Park Apartments provides 115 studio and 2-bedroom apartments for integrated supportive and affordable, and senior housing. Sixty-nine studios are dedicated to formerly homeless individuals with services and rent subsidies supported through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative. The remaining 46 units, including a live-in super, serve low-income seniors and families at or below 60% area median income and are part of HPD’s lottery program. The initiative has created a new home for vulnerable New Yorkers and new permanent jobs for 20 on-site workers. Significant design attention was given to common and shared spaces, including a generous lobby, sitting area, and activity room on the first floor which opens directly onto a landscaped garden shared by all residents. The building’s design features promote safety, wellness, and security. Overall, the amenities will affirm the residents’ dignity and foster pride in their homes.

Community Impact:
This contemporary, sustainable building creates neighbor-to-neighbor linkages between the residents as well as a wide array of community-based supportive services. The project’s design encourages a sense of rootedness in the building’s community, while contributing to the streetscape and conveying a welcoming presence to the wider neighborhood community. 3500 Park Apartments increases affordable housing in an area that has been seriously impacted by the pandemic. The need for housing has never been greater, as illustrated by receiving over 14,000 applications through the lottery for 45 community units.

Organization Description:
Founded in 1960 by Judith and Harold Edelman, ESKW/Architects has over fifty years of experience in the design and construction industry, with a strong commitment to the non-profit and institutional sectors. Housing is the cornerstone of the practice, and fostering long-term relationships, a common thread through their history. The firm’s commitment to community-building is exemplified through several large-scale, award-winning projects such as New Settlement Community Campus (2013), True Colors Residence (2012), and Sharks! (2012).

Team Members:

Structural: Silman, Geotech + SOE: GZA, MEP: Loring, Civil: Neil Strandberg, Lighting: Jim Conti, Landscape Design: Billie Cohen, Energy: SWA, Environmental: AKRF, Architecture: ESKW/Architects