Renovations Continue in Harlem and the Bronx

While Highbridge is a major development, it’s not the only project in the works. Samaritan Daytop Village is also undertaking a rehabilitation of the Wakefield Apartments in the Bronx and a cluster of buildings in Harlem.

The Wakefield project includes two buildings on 243rd Street in the Bronx, which are undergoing a $30 million renovation. This effort is being financed by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) and the Community Preservation Corporation and is also being supported by a $1 million grant from the HPD-NYSERDA Retrofit Electrification Pilot and $3.5 million from the NYS Homeless Housing Assistance Program.

The two buildings, formerly temporary housing, will be transformed into 126 permanently affordable homes, 80 of which will be reserved for formerly homeless families and the remaining 46 as rent-stabilized units. Renovation work is ongoing with one-third of construction complete. Residents are being moved out of their units temporarily as improvements are made, in a process known as "checkerboarding." The renovation project will upgrade and modernize the building’s common areas and apartments, add an elevator in one building, and create tenant amenities such as on-site laundry, bike storage, and a community room.   

The Harlem cluster project consists of nine buildings in East Harlem with 124 residential units. The architect of record, Magnusson Architecture & Planning, PC, is currently drafting the design and renovation plans and outlining the construction’s scope of work to be reviewed and approved by the NYC HPD. Predevelopment costs are being funded by a $2 million predevelopment loan from the Leviticus Fund. 

Samaritan Daytop Village is converting these former temporary shelter units into permanent affordable housing. These projects will provide stable, long-term housing while modernizing old poorly maintained buildings to meet current housing standards.

The development of permanent affordable housing is a new and exciting housing category for the agency and marks the nonprofit’s first experience as an owner, operator, and landlord of affordable housing.

With the future of supportive and affordable housing looking green, industry-leading projects like Highbridge, Wakefield Apartments, and the Harlem Cluster are poised to make a lasting impact on affordable housing in the Bronx and Harlem.