Most New Yorkers can agree that we have a crisis of homelessness and not enough affordable housing to solve it. Like any complex problem, we can tackle this issue in a mosaic of ways and one under-utilized strategy should be added to the mix: preserving and renovating buildings as old as 100 years to help vulnerable people get their lives back on track.
Renovation sounds financially prohibitive, but with the collaboration of our City’s agencies, flexible sellers committed to the integrity of their neighborhood, and an inventive approach to space utilization, exceptional results can occur.
In this case, a recently launched complex of three connected buildings on Anthony Avenue in the Bronx, created in a community where vulnerable New Yorkers of all ages can achieve the dignity of a home.
This approach built upon the gold standard of supportive housing in ending homelessness, in which residents pay for with one-third of their income and/or benefits for rent and access counseling to gain employment, reunite with families, and improve their physical and mental health. At Jericho Project, 95% of our clients in eight supportive housing residences and apartments across the city do not return to homelessness.
To achieve this, we relied on tireless, long-term support of New York City’s Department of Housing and Preservation Development (HPD); the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene (DOHMH); the NYC Human Resources Administration/Department of Social Services (HRA/DSS) and the Community Preservation Corporation, and our contractor J. Pilla.
The project combined three contiguous buildings, two of which Jericho Project acquired in the 1990s, and significantly renovated a new building between the two original buildings. This hybrid approach created two- and three-bedroom suites for young adults to reduce isolation, and central community spaces for them and older adults in a tree lined garden.
In this case, thoughtful renovation achieved several objectives at once: enabling formerly homeless individuals to stay in place, reducing local pollution and disruption during construction, and maintaining the neighborhood architecture. Some key advantages for residents, most of whom had experience the trauma of homelessness:
· Staying in place during renovation. Our first priority was to minimize the experience of displacement for our residents. Unlike a traditional gut rehab, when tenants leave a building entirely and often have to move back in at higher rents – if they can move back at all – we renovated each building one at a one time. Our tenants were able to move into the completed center building while the work was being done, also enabling it to proceed at a faster pace.
· Create practical solutions to reduce costs. We dove deeply into research and devised a plan to include wheelchair access on the lower floors and garden to accommodate non-ambulatory residents. This allowed us to maintain precious space for apartments rather than an elevator on floors two through four.
· Maintain the benefits of Single Room Occupancy (SRO) design. While new buildings cannot incorporate the SRO design of apartments sharing a bath and kitchen, older buildings can. For the population we serve, this sense of community was proven to be a lifeline during the COVID pandemic. At that time, illness was vastly lower in our SRO buildings than elsewhere in NYC because our residents were respectful of each other and their safety.
· Design for community. For formerly homeless young adults, whose tendencies would be to retreat to their rooms, we centered their units around a kitchen to encourage cooking and eating together. Crucially, HPD provided project-based vouchers for young adults so they can move to other housing as their lives change.
· Create long-term energy savings. While new buildings are sustainable once they are built, renovating older buildings casts less dust into the neighboring buildings and street during construction. Replacing the three old boilers and water heaters of the individual buildings with one new HVAC system, freed space for community rooms and will reduce energy costs for years to come.
Perhaps the most compelling part of our experience in joining the three Anthony Avenue residences into one, came from the family that sold us the properties. The owners of the middle building were the children of the parents who had sold us the other two some 30 years ago. Rather than sell it to someone who would flip it for profit, they entrusted it to us.
Renovation is not quick and easy. But when it is well-researched, thoughtfully planned and embarked upon with the right partners, it demonstrates how we can deliver quality not only in housing but also in life.
By Tori Lyon and Amie Gross
