Categories: New York City, Member News
07.17.2023
On Friday, July 14 Project Renewal joined project partners and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson for a topping-off celebration of Bedford Green House Phase II, which will create 116 new affordable apartments, 70 supportive, in the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx. Bedford Green House Phase I opened in January 2022 and created 117 affordable apartments, including 71 supportive. Together, the two buildings will provide 233 supportive and affordable homes. Project Renewal will provide on-site services, including case management, occupational therapy, entitlement support and horticultural therapy, funded by the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI) through the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYS OMH).
Scheduled to open in January 2025, Bedford Green House Phase II will be LEED certified and feature a street-facing medical clinic offering primary care, pediatrics, podiatry, digital radiology, and other healthcare services to both tenants and community members. It will also include a fitness room, a landscaped backyard, and The Molly B. Kronick Library and Learning Center. Tenants will also have access to the 1,500-square-foot rooftop greenhouse and aquaponics farming system next door at Bedford Green House Phase I.
At the topping off ceremony, lunch was provided for the construction workers to thank them for their hard work on the project from City Beet Kitchens, Project Renewal’s social enterprise catering company.
Eric Rosenbaum, President and CEO of Project Renewal remarked, “Bedford Green House helps to meet our city’s urgent need for supportive and affordable housing and embodies Project Renewal’s mission to empower individuals and families to renew their lives with health, homes, and jobs. In Phase II, we look forward to bringing additional housing and services, including a medical clinic, to more New Yorkers with histories of homelessness and the wider community,”
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson presented Project Renewal with a check for $300,000 for the project’s construction and said, “We see the promise and potential of projects such as this [Bedford Green House Phase II]. That is how you stabilize families, that is how you build our borough, and that is how you invest in our city…supportive housing, making sure we work with FQHCs, healthcare centers, social services, medical treatment, primary health, mental health, supporting those that are living with substance use and addiction. These are clients that are sometimes at their lowest point. But projects like Bedford Green House lift them up. And if there is anything we can do as a society, as partners in this work, it is uplifting our families and giving them the hope that they need and the quality housing that they rightfully deserve.”
Remarks were also provided by Project Renewal Chief Real Estate Officer Paul Woody and New York State Assemblymember George Alvarez.
Funding for Bedford Green Housing Phase II came from NYS HCR’s permanent tax-exempt bonds, NYC HPD’s Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits; NYS OTDA’s Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP); and grants from New York City Council and the Bronx Borough President’s Office.
The architect is Edelman Sultan Knox Wood (ESKW) Architects and the general contractor is Bruno Frustaci Contracting, Inc.