The Fischer Senior Apartments

Organization Name: Shakespeare Gordon Studio

Project Title: The Fischer Senior Apartments

Project Location: Highbridge, The Bronx, NY

Project Description:
Located on a dramatically sloped site in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx, the Fischer Senior Apartments adds 105 new units of affordable housing for seniors to a city-owned site that was left unused for decades. The building’s unique form is a reaction to its irregularly shaped lot and a large schist outcropping on the site, leveraging both conditions to increase the unit count and ensure access to natural light and views of the city throughout. The units include one-bedroom apartments and studios, including sixteen studios on the top two floors designed with communal living areas and space for supportive staff to pilot a new “enhanced care” model for aging in place. Common spaces on the ground floor include a large main lobby, a flexible multi-purpose room, a landscaped rear patio, and offices for the building’s staff and social workers. Colorful glazed bricks on the façade, vibrant interior finishes, abundant natural light, and strong sustainable design all create a welcoming environment for tenants and the surrounding community, making this building an exciting new addition to the Highbridge neighborhood.

Community Impact:
The Fischer Senior Apartments embody an innovative approach to affordable senior housing, with developers, social service providers, and architects working collaboratively to translate residents' needs into an integrated environment. The building merges affordable homes, quality care, and community under one roof, creating a supportive environment in which older adults can age in place. Out of the building’s 105 units, 59 are reserved for formerly homeless adults, and the remaining for households 55 and older making less than 50% of the AMI. The building also includes social services offices, providing a dedicated space for programs such as WSFSSH’s Enhanced Care Pilot Program, which provides permanent housing for older adults served by NYC Health and Hospitals who are experiencing homelessness and require personal care services to live independently. Overall, the building is designed to flexibly support the needs of older adults, with several units designed to accommodate Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS). This project’s success is due in large part to the collaboration between several mission-driven organizations, each focused on opening doors to stability, opportunity, and dignity.

Organization Description:
Shakespeare Gordon Studio is a 24-person office based in Brooklyn that focuses on work within New York City, primarily for public and non-profit clients. It is our mission to create architecture that has an enduring positive effect on its users and on the physical landscape of our city. The West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing (WSFSSH) is a nonprofit affordable housing developer, property manager, and service provider. Today, WSFSSH houses and offers supportive services at 31 buildings to 2,700 low-income New Yorkers.

Team Members:

AKRF, CMTA, Construction Specifications, De Nardis, Frank Seta & Associates, GEODesign, IROS Elevator, Joanna Pertz Landscape Architecture, JM Zoning, Procida Construction, Steven Winter Associates