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New Destiny Housing, the project developer, estimates that at least 30 percent of families that use the city’s shelter system are fleeing domestic abuse. The Bryant’s allocation will support only a small fraction of this group, yet it sets up a strong template for similar projects in the future. The Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative will fund on-site services that include counseling, safety and financial planning, job readiness assistance, and children and family programming.
Magnusson Architecture and Planning (MAP) describes the building as one designed to create a “safe, stable community for all tenants.” The Bryant aims for a nurturing atmosphere through sunlit interiors illuminated via floor-to-ceiling windows, a cheerfully colorful facade, a multi-purpose meeting and event room, an indoor space for children, a landscaped backyard with a play area, a laundry room, and a top-floor library adjacent to a green roof.
MAP appears as an appropriate designer for this type of project, given the firm’s extensive portfolio of affordable and community-oriented projects in the Bronx and around the city. The firm’s website describes a mission geared to “assist non-profit groups, municipalities, and developers to reshape neighborhoods to improve their residents’ quality of life.”
CityRealty reported upon the groundbreaking of one of such endeavors by MAP in June, where Caton Flats, a 14-story, mixed-use development in Flatbush, combines 255 affordable units with new space for the Flatbush Caton Market and the new headquarters of The Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as additional retail space.
Also in June, CityRealty announced the launch of an affordable housing lottery at Compass III, where a 16-story, 328-unit high-rise at 1560 Boone Avenue, overlooking the Starlight Park and the Bronx River, joins similar projects next door. Compass III sits just a few blocks north of the Bryant, and represents a similar local contribution to returning density to the once-distressed community, strengthening the urban corridor along the scenic Bronx River and adjacent parks, addressing the city’s housing crisis, and providing integrated services to provide assistance to families in need of support.