It is a development that many feel will be a model when it comes to building housing that is both green and affordable.
Fox Point, located at the site of a former vacant lot at 1015 Fox Street, is a brand new 47-unit building. It is part of an effort by Enterprise Green Communities, the first national green building program for affordable housing, to have 10,000 units developed, retrofitted, or preserved in the city over the next five years.
The building will house formerly homeless families in 31 of its apartments. Enterprise Green is pursing LEED Silver Certification – one of the highest environmentally sound benchmarks when it comes to construction. Enterprise provided non-profit social-service agency Palladia, Inc. with about $9 million in tax credit equity funding for the project.
“Palladia’s Fox Point is a shining example of the green affordable housing Enterprise will make possible over the next five years,” said Abby Jo Sigal, vice president and New York City office director for Enterprise.
The building contains vegetative “green” roofs and solar reflective surfaces on the roof to reduce heat and cooling costs; highly efficient cooling and heating systems; weather stripping on all apartment doors; exterior sun shades that limit heat gain in hot weather months; and a micro-turbine system that generates energy to supplement lessened utility purchases from Con-Edison.
Palladia president and CEO Jane Velez said the company’s partnership with Enterprise would greatly benefit the residents.
“The families at Fox Point will now enjoy the benefits of green living materials and technologies that provide well-documented, improved health outcomes for individuals, especially people with chronic health problems such as asthma and other allergies,” Velez said. “We commend Enterprise for their commitment to providing resources to projects like Fox Point, which give the formally homeless and low-income New Yorkers a chance to enjoy the health, economic, and environmental benefits of green housing.”
For the residents of the building coming from Department of Homeless Service’s shelters, the building will provide a second chance at a life led with dignity and hope.
“Especially now, during these tough economic times, affordable housing plays an essential role in helping families and individuals return to independent lives,” said DHS commissioner Robert Hess. “Thanks to Palladia, and the units made available at Fox Point, more formerly homeless households will return to self-sufficiency and discover new opportunities as they reintegrate in the community and settle into homes of their own.”
