Residents of Tremont from all walks of life will have an opportunity to live in a state-of-the-art apartment building in 2022.
Non-profit organization Unique People Services along with Lt. Governor Kathleen Hocul and other sponsors gathered at the future site of 2050 Grand Concourse on Thursday, January 16 to kick off the construction for the 96-unit affordable housing.
The planned 13-story, 86,176 square foot multi-family building sits on the northeast corner of the Grand Concourse and East Burnside Avenue.
The project is a mixed income development targeted to house families and individuals in the community who are fighting homelessness, drug abuse and other personal health/wellness issues, as well as median income workers in the community.
“As a transit-oriented mixed-use, mixed-income development, 2050 Grand Concourse will provide apartments for low-income households being priced out of the area, bring higher earning households into the area, and leverage the spending power of close to 50 (Unique Peoples Services) employees to invigorate local businesses,” according to a UPS press packet.
Thirty units will be controlled by NYC’s Human Resources Administration to house those in need.
“That is a good day for the state of New York, to the life’s we transform, people with mental health issues who we can take off the streets, people with substance abuse issues, people who have lived the life of homelessness who will be able to live in at least 30 of the units we’re setting aside for them, that is a good day for those individuals,” Lt. Gov. Hocul said.
“That is the day we take care of the human spirit and protect them from what happens outside when they come in this building, this is a place that will be their home, but also a place of security, to lift them up out of poverty, give them a sense of community,” she concluded.
According to Jacqueline Dudley, Deputy Commissioner of HRA, 2050 Grand Concourse will be the first permanent location for supportive housing for the city agency.
The building received awards before even being built.
It was the recipient of the inaugural New York’s Buildings of Excellence Competition for its innovative and eco-friendly features.
The building has environment-friendly solar panels on the roof to generate electricity for the property to low-flow plumbing fixtures to conserve water.
Sally Smith, a local Tremont resident for over 50 years, said she is ecstatic about the project and a development such as this is way overdue.
“I’m so happy to see this project serve the people who truly deserve it,” Smith said. “We need to always look out for the underdog.”
