Bridge Rockaway, the Brownsville, Brooklyn development designed by Think! that co-locates affordable and supportive housing with light industrial manufacturing, has been receiving numerous accolades. Recently this first of its kind development was recognized at the Citizens Housing & Planning Council Annual Luncheon, receiving the Impact for Community Investment Award. This video, shown at the lunch, gives a insight into process behind realizing the building and the impact Bridge Rockaway is having.
Ribbon cutting at The Bridge: Co-locating affordable housing and light manufacturing
On September 25, 2024, the ribbon cutting ceremony took place at 203 Newport Street in Brownsville, Brooklyn, seeing nearly eight years of efforts to create a unique mix of uses come to fruition. The first of its kind in New York City, the project co-locates affordable housing with light manufacturing workshops.
Designed by Think!, this remarkable project is a collaborative effort involving The Bridge, a prominent supportive housing and behavioral health non-profit; Mega Development with its long history with affordable housing; and Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center (GMDC), a non-profit whose mission is to promote high-paying manufacturing jobs in under-served communities.
Members of the 203 Newport Street development team from The Bridge, Mega Development, GMDC and Think!
This new model of mixed-use has never been done in New York - the new zoning uniquely allows for residential units to sit above the manufacturing space - and took years of negotiation with a multitude of City agencies to insure the safety and comfort of the hundreds of people who will call this innovative complex home.
The result is a 180,000 square foot development that includes 174 mixed affordable and supportive housing units for low-income families, with 87 units set aside for homeless individuals and, of those, 35 for frail seniors and veterans. They are accommodated in two residential buildings of 5 and 6 stories flanking a 14,000 square foot landscaped courtyard and set above a shared single-story podium. The podium houses 40,000 sq ft light manufacturing workshop space designed as low-cost incubator spaces for local start-up companies.
The large garden and a glass link connecting the buildings serve as a social nexus to foster interaction among residents. The manufacturing component occupies almost the entire ground floor, making the second floor garden level the principal amenity floor. Think! took advantage of this condition, making the main entrance an unusually grand, two story space with a broad stair leading from the street to the garden. This welcoming and light-filled entry sequence is rarely seen in affordable housing, known for minimum standard spaces, and is designed to encourage social interaction, movement and better physical and mental health outcomes.
This elegant complex aspires to raise the bar for architecture in Brownsville and this new model is a milestone for this partnership, for Brooklyn and for all of New York. It has taken patience, collaboration, creativity and goodwill to shepherd the project to completion and it will hopefully pave a way for future similar developments that seek to address the City’s housing goals and also its workforce and economic goals.
Betances Family Apartments in the Bronx’s Mott Haven neighborhood has opened, offering 101 deeply affordable homes. Designed by Think! for Lemle & Wolff Development Company, Alembic Community Development and The Bridge, the 15 story, 98,000 sq ft development on the NYCHA Betances site 6 includes 70 units for low to moderate-income families with 30 set aside for previously homeless individuals.
Elected and city officials join the project team for the opening of Betances Family Apartments.
In addition to the apartments which range from studios to three bedrooms, the building features amenities such as a children’s playroom, bike storage, 24/7 building security and a generous second floor community room that opens out onto a landscaped rooftop terrace. Additionally, The Bridge is providing on-site supportive services, including case management, benefits counseling, and links to community mental health, dental, and substance use services. On the ground floor, 10,000 square feet is set aside for commercial use, creating opportunities for local businesses.
The exterior design is based on a simple light colored grid, infilled with windows and panels of muted colors. To break the repetition of this gridded pattern, and to mitigate the significant scale of a 15-story tower in a predominantly 5 or 6 story neighborhood, Think! devised a darker recessed band that spirals around the tower’s mid-section in order to break down the building mass and better relate to the adjacent NYCHA housing.
It has taken eight years to realize, but this project is a testament to the determination of the team and the power of public and private partnerships in addressing the city's affordable housing shortage.
Ribbon cut at new affordable housing for IMPACCT Brooklyn
On July 2, 2024, the ribbon cutting ceremony took place at a 63 unit affordable housing development designed for low-income seniors and frail elderly, at 811 Lexington Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Designed by Think! for IMPACCT Brooklyn, this long-awaited four-story building will provide rent-subsidized housing for seniors earning less than 50% of the area median income, with at least 30% of units set aside for seniors at risk of homelessness.
In addition to the residential units, which are a combination of studio and one-bedroom apartments, the 41,421 sq ft building includes program support spaces, parking, community rooms and a large 500 sq ft recreation room that opens onto a planned rooftop garden. Seating areas, a patio, and paths will enhance the experience for those accessing the garden by incorporating active design elements.
Marty and Jack attended the ribbon cutting ceremony
The design also takes care to counterpoint the building’s horizontal composition with a strong glazed vertical gesture at the main entry, which brings natural light to every elevator lobby, creating connectivity between exterior, entry, lobby and elevators, up to the community room and out to the rooftop, enhanced by natural materials and warm colors.
IMPACCT is committed to helping residents build and sustain flourishing communities in Central Brooklyn. With this in mind, Think!’s goal was to design a supportive, comfortable and compassionate environment to bring the senior population together as they ”age in place” in their community. With limited budget, the design process included selecting the simplest solutions to elements such as building structure and a repetitive but elegant window pattern in order to devote greater resources to elements that more directly affect the residents’ quality of life.
Think! is proud to have been part of a team creating uplifting, safe and community-focused residences for vulnerable seniors that enable them to stay living in a neighborhood that may have been home for decades, while reinforcing multi-generational communities.
