WHEDco to set up affordable housing complex in Bronx

A music school, community centre, affordable housing and a rooftop urban garden – the cultural destination in Melrose Commons neighborhood at the South Bronx has it all.

Spread across 361,600-square feet, this mixed-use development by Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco) and Blue Sea Development Company will serve as a melting pot of culture, education, health and fitness, urban farming and affordable housing.

The idea behind setting up such a project, scheduled to start in 2013, is to mobilize a ‘creative class’ to drive economic development and spawn a related cluster of new businesses in the Melrose Commons.

“With the Melrose project, we are moving into a neighborhood that is going to see a great influx of new residents, and our extensive research shows that there are not enough schools,” Davon Russell, executive vice-president of WHEDco, told New York Daily News. “So purely from the standpoint of overcrowding, we knew we had to somehow address that. And we’re going to build 290 units of low-income housing that represents families with kids...here’s a place where they can go to school.”

The affordable rental apartment, meant for families earning 50-80 percent of the Area Median Income ($29,500 - $61,500 for a family of four), is surely one of the highlights of the project. As per the website, these apartments are for low income artists, families and individuals. Work spaces for elder musicians will also be available in the complex.

Other features of the building include retail space for promoting health and fitness in the community, a rooftop green house and substantial open green space for recreation.

Over the last decade, the Bronx, which traditionally had a good number of Hispanic and African-American residents, has seen a slow influx of white residents. One of the main reasons for this development, as reported by The New York Times, is primarily due to affordable real estate options. Low crime rates have only increased the region’s appeal, the report said.