Second Farms

Organization Name: NYIHD / Catholic Homes

Project Title: Second Farms

Project Location: 1932 Bryant Avenue, Bronx, NY 10460

Project Description:
Second Farms is a 15-story building located in the West Farms neighborhood of the Bronx. The sloped, irregularly shaped lot posed a difficult development opportunity, further challenged by the proximity to an elevated subway line and significant rock outcroppings. These challenges were overcome by rezoning, clever design, and green technologies. The building contains 319 affordable units, consisting of a mix of studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units. A portion of the units cater to people with mobility and visual impairments. The residential amenities are designed to promote a healthy live, work, play lifestyle featuring a co-working space, bike storage, as well as a spacious paved and planted courtyard along Bryant Avenue. The building also includes space occupied by a day care facility, as well as ground floor retail that will be leased to a supermarket. The building is designed in compliance with NYCHPD guidelines, as well as the Enterprise Green Community standards. Second Farms revitalizes a key corner in the neighborhood from an unused garage to a vibrant space providing much needed affordable housing, while also promoting community building and a healthy lifestyle.

Community Impact:
Inclusivity and revitalization framed all aspects of this 100% affordable development, from programming to design, ensuring all residents have access to building amenities and that the program fosters a sense of community inside and outside the building. Thirty-eight of the units, distributed throughout the development, are set aside for formerly homeless families with on-site supportive services provided by Catholic Charities Community Services.

The building was designed with a central lobby leading to two separate wings that function, as two separate buildings, to create more intimate communities within the context of the larger building. A spacious multipurpose room overlooks the courtyard and can host resident or building-wide events and is also being contemplated for larger community activities.

The ground floor grocery store is well located near the stair entrance to the elevated subway lines, enabling the community to access fresh food, which is a much needed amenity in an area that is widely regarded as a “food desert”. The day care center, with its entrance on East Tremont, also serves the community by supporting working families through providing accessible care to young children.

Organization Description:
The Association of New York Catholic Homes is the housing development office of Catholic Charities and the Archdiocese of New York. Catholic Homes has a current portfolio of over 2,300 units of affordable housing and is spearheading the development of new affordable housing on sites throughout the Bronx and Manhattan. Currently over 500 units are in construction and over 1,500 units are in the development pipeline.

Team Members:

Bank of New York Mellon
Dattner Architects, P.C.
Forsyth Street Advisors
Monadnock Construction
New York City HPD and HDC
The Wavecrest Management Team

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