Carmen Villegas Apartments (CVA)

Organization Name: Ascendant Neighborhood Development Corporation

Project Title: Carmen Villegas Apartments (CVA)

Project Location: East Harlem

Project Description:
The 28-story Carmen Villegas Apartments (CVA) will offer 216-units of affordable senior housing, ground floor commercial, and community facility space in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. Named for prominent local activist, the late Carmen Villegas, this corner lot development will be a high-profile testament to the vibrancy of the neighborhood, and a support for those who have spurred the area’s vitality for so long. The development will aim for Passive House certification and will feature geothermal heating, cooling and domestic hot water with programmable thermostats located in each unit, a solar canopy and potentially Building Integrated Photovoltaics, central ERVs to provide fresh air and exhaust for the apartment units and corridors and open community spaces to foster connection and socialization. The project team is working closely to identify opportunities to reduce embodied carbon through material selection will also explore resiliency strategies given that the site is in a future flood zone. The project will include a second phase sustainable retrofit of the neighboring Casita Park Apartments with the goal of bringing the two buildings to net-zero operational carbon.

Community Impact:
Clad in a rainscreen system with pops of color, CVA’s east façade will sport a mural paying homage to the area’s artistic culture. Art features prominently at the ground floor too, where painted cross walks provide opportunities to engage local artists and the community while distinguishing the intersections and bolstering the link between the building and its surroundings.

CVA sets back at ground level for wider sidewalks and even a small, landscaped area to help to activate Park Avenue, while a double height opening on 110th Street dubbed “Salsa Way," will create a relationship between the inner courtyard and streetscape, adding safety and visual interest.

This development will have a network of shared spaces like community rooms adjacent to landscaped outdoor areas, lounges, and laundry rooms on different floors. These social spots are meant to encourage community, as loneliness and social isolation are serious health risks for older adults.
With leading edge embodied and operational carbon reduction strategies, this 100% affordable development will produce and preserve critically needed senior housing that prioritizes health and quality of life for both residents and those in the community.

Organization Description:
Ascendant Neighborhood Development Corporation builds homes, engages community members, and partners with allies to raise up neighborhoods that provide stability and access to opportunity for all. Xylem Projects is a mission-driven real estate development and investment firm. We are NYC and NYS MWBE certified. Urban Builders Collaborative (UBC) has developed ~1,000 multifamily residential apartments with total development costs in excess of $500M in New York City, New Jersey and Westchester County.

Team Members:

Magnusson Architecture & Planning (MAP), Ascendant Neighborhood Development Corp., Xylem, Urban Builders Collaborative (UBC), Lettire Construction; Desimone Consulting Eng.; Skyline Eng.; terrain-NYC

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