In a new twist to affordable housing in Melrose, developer The Phipps Houses Group, one of the largest not-for-profit developers of affordable housing in the country, is setting aside 20% (63 units) of the 323 unit Courtlandt Corners project for middle income families making up to $80,000 per year.

Once completed, along with Boricua Village which is 2 blocks over, Courtlandt Corners I & II will transform the East 161st Street corridor leading into the heart of civic life in The Bronx from a rundown street to a beautiful buildings, trees and new storefronts for area residents and employees as well. Both of these projects will serve as anchors to the Northern boundary of Melrose which has been long neglected throughout the last 40+ years.

What was once one of the most iconic symbols of urban decay in Melrose is now slowly being resuscitated back to life with the creation of Boricua Village. Although the building is not part of the development proper, the old Bronx Courthouse will no longer sit amongst ruins and empty lots as it has been for decades now.

At 4.5 acres it is one of the largest construction projects in not only just Melrose but The Bronx as well. Boricua Village will feature a 14 story vertical campus which will be occupied by Boricua College and will be surrounded by open plazas, trees, an amphitheatre as well as 700 new units for low income and middle income families and approximately 50,000 square feet of retail. According to Atlantic Development Group, the college will be home to 100 full-time faculty, 100 part-time faculty, 140 administrators and staff and estimated that it will generate approximately $15,000,000 in additional revenue for the Melrose area. That’s pretty impressive to have such a large economic engine to be housed in what was once one of the most blighter neighborhoods in The Bronx.

Now if only someone could purchase the Old Courthouse and turn it into yet another functioning building we can all be proud of. Hint, Hint!

El Jardin de Seline at 779 Melrose Avenue (corner of East 158th Street) is now accepting applications for its 66 units. The building is a low to moderate income residence and according to the New York Real Estate Journal, El Jardin de Seline “will achieve a LEED Silver rating as well as being NYSERDA Energy Star certified and Enterprise Green Communities Compliant.” These ratings and certifications will be achieved through such amenities as green roofs at setbacks, solar panels on the roof of the building and bamboo flooring to name a few.

Watching this building rise above Melrose was a treat since I could see it wasn’t just a plain old building. A lot of care went into the design of the exterior including Art Deco motifs which as many of you know was a common style in The Bronx during the glory years which gave our borough one of the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the United States and the world. That being said, it is great to see such designs on mixed-income projects like Jardin de Seline and not just for upper-class residential buildings.