The Peninsula Mixed-Use Campus

Organization Name: WXY architecture + urban design

Project Title: The Peninsula Mixed-Use Campus

Project Location: The Bronx, New York

Project Description:
The Peninsula Mixed‑Use Campus in Hunts Point, Bronx, transforms the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center site into a vibrant live-work campus that weaves together affordable housing, light manufacturing, community amenities, and open space. WXY architecture + urban design led the design strategy in partnership with major stakeholders, embedding 740 permanently affordable homes alongside 50,000 ± sf of light industrial space and 52,000 ± sf of publicly accessible open space. Phase 1 introduces two buildings framing a central landscaped plaza: Building 1A supports local business operations; Building 1B houses the affordable residential tower above a community-arts “black box” theater. The campus integrates sustainability features—solar panels, biodigester, planted terraces—while opening formerly gated edges to re-connect the neighborhood with its waterfront and transit infrastructure.

Community Impact:
By replacing a closed youth detention facility with an inclusive mixed-use campus, The Peninsula delivers more than housing—it delivers opportunity. The 100% affordable model anchors Hunts Point with 740 income-restricted homes, workspaces for local artisans and food producers, and over 175 permanent jobs created on-site. (wxystudio.com) A network of step-streets, public gardens, and a central plaza stitch the site back into the surrounding neighborhood, activating formerly disconnected edges and ensuring new homes are integrated, not isolated. (wxystudio.com) The industrial component invites local entrepreneurs and starts to reverse the displacement of manufacturing from urban centers, while culturally-rooted uses—arts spaces, production studios—build on the neighborhood’s legacy of creativity and commerce. In doing so, the project not only addresses the Bronx’s housing crisis but models how equity, design, and public-space can converge to regenerate place and possibility.

Organization Description:
WXY architecture + urban design is a distinguished architecture and planning practice based in New York City and Toronto. The firm was founded in 1998 by Claire Weisz, FAIA. Hon. FRAIC, Hon. ASLA, and Mark Yoes, FAIA, LEED AP, with a focus on engaging, improving, and honoring public space.

Team Members:

New York City Economic Development Corporation
Gilbane Development
Hudson Companies
MHANY Management
Elizabeth Kennedy Landscape Architect
Body Lawson Associates