Bronx Commons
An Arts-based Mixed-use Development Collaboration with WHEDco and Blue Sea Development Corporation
WHEDco and Blue Sea Development Company are collaborating on a 361,600 square foot mixed-use development which includes affordable housing; the WHEDco Bard Academy, a grades 6-12 public charter school; the Bronx Music Heritage Center, a community performace and event space; and a rooftop urban farm. It will serve as a cultural destination and site for music and dance performances, community events, production and multimedia activities, and an intergenerational oral history project. The aim is to mobilize a "creative class" to drive economic development and spawn a related cluster of new businesses in the Melrose Commons neighborhood of the South Bronx.
PURPOSE:
- To celebrate the rich musical heritage of the Bronx by drawing upon and restoring pride in its history.
- To meet the need for affordable housing options in the Bronx, including live/work space for elder musicians.
- To bring housing together with education, the arts, open green space, health and fitness, and urban farming.
- To utilize the arts as a means of catalyzing the renewal of a neighborhood rich in history and culture.
PROJECT TEAM:
Developers/Owners: WHEDco and Blue Sea Development Company
Design Architects: Rogers Marvel Architects
PROJECT FEATURES:
- Sustainable design features to achieve LEED certification
- 293 affordable rental apartments for low income artists, families and individuals, including live/work spaces for elder musicians
- The WHEDco Bard Academy Charter School, a grades 6-12 public charter school with an El Sistema-inspired music education curriculum
- The Bronx Music Heritage Center, including community archives and a performace venue
- Ongoing exhibits that celebrate the vibrant and varied cultural legacy of the Bronx
- Community programming, including an intergenerational oral history project
- Retail space dedicated to promoting health and fitness in the community
- A rooftop hydroponic green house
- Substantial open green space for recreation
LOCATION:
The development will be located in the Melrose Commons neighborhood of the South Bronx, on the west side of Elton Avenue, between East 162nd and East 163rd Street.
MIXED-INCOME RENTAL APARTMENTS:
Melrose Commons Site B has 293 mixed-income rental apartments for families earning 50-80% of the Area Median Income ($29,500 - $61,500 for a family of 4). Approximately 75% of the units available have 2 or more bedrooms.
SQUARE FOOTAGE SUMMARY:
| WHEDco Bard Academy: | 53,900 gsf |
| Bronx Music Heritage Center: | 6,500 gsf |
| Residential: | 290,000 gsf |
| Rooftop Greenhouse / Public Plaza Space: |
11,200 gsf |
| Total Project: | 361,600 gsf |
TIMELINE:
| Site designation to development team by City of New York: |
2009 |
| Anticipated construction start date: | 2013 |
ABOUT WHEDco
The Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco) has worked for nearly twenty years to build a more beautiful, equitable and economically vibrant Bronx. We reach over 30,000 people annually through energy-efficient, healthy and affordable homes, early childhood education and youth development, family support, home-based childcare microenterprise and food business incubation.
ABOUT Blue Sea Development
Blue Sea Development, LLC, with its principals' combined experience of more than 50 years, specializes in the development and construction of market-rate, government-assisted, and planned residential developments incorporating sustainable design and construction elements in all their work. Among its recent accomplishments, Blue Sea Development was the first company to build ENERGY STAR and LEED for Homes housing developments in New York State.
