Green Affordable MF Opens in Bronx

NEW YORK CITY-Bronx Pro Real Estate Management opened a new 90-unit affordable housing development at 1085 Washington Ave., in the Morrisania section of the Bronx on Tuesday, according to a release from the management company. The building’s anchor tenant will be DreamYard, a local provider of art education to K-12 aged students.

Bronx Pro says it has completed new construction and renovation projects through the Neighborhood Entrepreneur and New Foundations programs, sponsored by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development. In the release, Peter Magistro, president of Bronx Pro, says, “this building is a testament not only to Bronx Pro’s commitment to developing quality affordable housing, but our commitment to the creation of new communities in the Bronx.”

The New York City Housing Development Corp. provided a $13.6-million construction loan, $5.7 million in permanent financing and a $4.95-million subsidy. Other partners included Enterprise Community Partners, who provided Bronx Pro with an acquisition loan equaling $3.4 million, $95 million in tax credit equity and a $40,000 Green Communities Grant.

The new building includes a 1,850-square-foot green rooftop garden that’s certified a “natural habitat in the Bronx” that includes a sustainable native organic garden, birdhouses and a solar powered birdbath. According to he release, the roof will provide a “safe haven for migrating or native birds, butterflies and bees that may be seeking sanctuary in the Bronx.”

The Morrisania neighborhood, located in the hilly southwest section of the Bronx. has a population of around 35,000. according to information from its Community Board Three. Over the past 40 years, the area has seen a number of severe economic challenges; in the 1970s, images of many of the area’s burned-out or damaged multi-tenant residential buildings were often used to symbolize New York’s urban ills. In 2003, the New York City Council approved rezoning that changed the area from primarily manufacturing and allows moderate-density housing along with retail and community facility uses.