Affordable Housing

Affordable Housing

Union & Columbia

Project Manager/Designer: Robert M. Scarano Jr.

Completion Date: August 2003

Location: Redhook, Brooklyn

Visit: http://www.strategic-construction.com

This new development is a mixed-use, 2-story and basement commercial and residential development. It is a light-gauge steel frame building, which includes (24) apartments, public parking and private areas, all contained in 24,000 square feet. This project is a cornerstone in the evolving Columbia Street Corridor, which has created one of Brooklyn’s newest neighborhoods. It has diverted attention to this area of Brooklyn, and is assisting in the quick growth of the local residential market. The site was a long vacant lot in a prominent corner location. This fact presented the opportunity to create a low-rise contextual building grouping, which attracted families and revived this previously blighted land. The combination of masonry, stucco and stone distinguishes the site as an anchor building, which works with and enhances the adjacent existing neighborhood buildings. Its modest scale and bulk utilize all floor area, as a benefit of the New York City Quality Housing Program. This Housing project has clearly created stability, which is evident in the high volume of new affordable housing projects being undertaken along the street frontages adjacent to it. This proves that momentum can be created and enhanced through distinctive design and high quality construction. Over 250 construction workers helped to achieve this successful housing project.

The Douglass

Project Manager/Designer: Robert M. Scarano Jr.

Completion Date: December 2003

Location: Harlem, USA

Visit: http://www.strategic-construction.com

The site was developed through the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) Cornerstone Program with funding by the NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC). The site consists of thirteen city owned vacant lots and one private lot, and is a key component in the City’s efforts to revitalize a large stretch of Frederick Douglass Boulevard from West 110th Street to West 125th Street in Harlem. The building was designed to complement the existing architecture in the area while providing an aesthetic that is fresh and sophisticated. The exterior is composed of two brick types with pre-cast concrete elements used to accent the cornices, sills and base of the building. Of the 137 rental units, 95 units, representing 70% of the rental units, were offered at rent levels affordable to middle income New Yorkers, as set by HDC’s New Housing Opportunities Program guidelines.