NEW YORK CITY — Lendlease has topped out Garden Towers, an affordable seniors housing community in the Bronx.
Foxy Management is developing the property in partnership with HANAC Inc. and JLD Advisory LLC. The project includes two residential buildings — rising seven stories and eight stories — that together offer a total of 149 rental units for low-income adults age 62 or older.
Lendlease, the construction manager for the project, broke ground on the development in August 2021 with an expected completion in 2023.
“Garden Towers represents our third project with Foxy Management, our most active affordable housing developer client in New York over the past six years,” says Steven Sommer, executive general manager and president of New York construction at Lendlease.
Designed by Newman Design, Garden Towers features a variety of amenities and common areas, including a glass greenhouse that serves as a walkway between the two buildings as well as a gathering space for residents.
Lendlease is building the property to meet Passive House standards, including upgraded insulation, electric MEP systems and a central exhaust system that minimizes building penetrations and heat loss. The project also includes solar panels, generating electricity and earning tax credits.
“New York is at the forefront of integrating sustainable design into the built environment — a commitment that extends to both market-rate and affordable housing and aligns with Lendlease’s own goal of achieving absolute zero carbon by 2040,” says Sommer. “While from a construction perspective some of these elements are more expensive upfront, typically the developer sees gains in the long run by building to Passive House standards and incorporating other energy-efficient elements that ultimately lower operating costs.”
Developed under New York’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD’s) Senior Affordable Rental Apartments (SARA) program, 30 percent of the units at Garden Towers are set aside for homeless seniors. All apartments will be affordable to households earning at or below 50 percent of the area median income.