by Patrick Rocchio
A new green building that promises affordable housing for 63 families opened with fanfare and a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, October 27, that included city officials like Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
The Eltona Apartments, located at 429 E. 156th Street, features wind turbines on the roof to generate alternative energy, and will have an office providing residents with social services like job placement.
In addition, residents will participate in a research study with Mount Sinai School of Medicine to record the benefits of living in green housing for asthmatics. The building has been certified LEED Platinum – considered the highest standard for green buildings.
Department of Housing Preservation and Development commissioner Rafael Cestero said that the building should be a model for affordable, green housing.
“The Eltona exemplifies HPD’s neighborhood approach to investing in affordable housing,” Cestero said. “By applying a local lens to this project we are able to put hardworking families into fantastic new, eco-friendly homes. Simultaneously [we are] applying science to [see] how healthier, greener buildings can affect the overall well-being of a neighborhood and its residents.”
The Eltona is a five-story, 71,640 square-foot rental development by Blue Sea Development. The building offers a mix of one, two, and three bedrooms, with resident storage and laundry rooms on each floor, a community room on ground level and on-site parking for 17 cars. The building also contains 6,800 square-feet of landscaped recreation space.
The apartments will be reserved for families whose incomes are below 60 percent of the area median income, which is $46,080 for a family of four.
Financing came from HPD and the Housing Development Corporation under Mayor Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan. The plan has provided seed funds for almost 31,000 affordable units of housing throughout the borough.
“The development is unique,” said HDC president Marc Jahr. “From the wind turbines that line its roof, to the job services and counseling offered its residents, The Eltona serves the needs of the individual as well as the community. We are particularly excited to have Mt. Sinai School of Medicine onsite to monitor and record data on the response of asthmatics in this carefully planned environment.”
Borough President Diaz added: “The Bronx has gone from ruins to revitalization, and is now the leading borough in green development.”
