September 19, 2019

"Topping Out" Our New Supportive Housing Residence for Older Adults, East Clarke Place

Construction of East Clarke Place Senior Residence has reached the halfway point, marked by a "topping out" ceremony on September 18, 2019.

The new apartment building, now 56% complete one year after breaking ground, is located at 112 East Clarke Place in the Jerome Avenue Highbridge-Concourse neighborhood of the Bronx. It is VOA-GNY's newest supportive housing site for low-income seniors and our largest development project to date!

East Clarke Place Senior Residence is a direct response to the affordable housing crisis in New York City, and will address the growing demand for subsidized housing for older adults, helping them to “age in place” with the assistance of critical support services. The 14-story, 122-unit residence will provide permanent housing for seniors (aged 62+) who are considered very-low and low-income. Thirty-seven units will be reserved for chronically homeless seniors. The building will feature 24/7 front desk security and concierge services, laundry rooms, well-lit stairwells, resident lounges, and a large community room that opens up to a landscaped courtyard with a built-in kitchen for summer barbecues and events. These features were designed with the unique needs of seniors in mind — to help ensure that they are safe, healthy and not isolated.

The topping out ceremony was attended by (pictured above, left to right) Jan Velebir, Site Safety Coordinator; Bob Harriman, Olive Branch Consulting; Dominic Dummet, Olive Branch Consulting; Derick McCullough, Olive Branch Consulting; Anthony Plomitallo, Project Superintendent, Procida Construction; Amir Elhadidy, Sr. Director of Facilities and Construction Management, VOA-GNY; Tere Pettitt, President and CEO, VOA-GNY; Robert Sanborn, Principal, Robert Sanborn Development; Paul Kress, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, VOA-GNY; Sean Roper, Assistant Project Manager, MAP Architects; Jonathan Reali, Project Manager, Procida Construction; Kami Altman, Associate Project Manager, MAP Architects; Jeff Chu, Director of Finance and Underwriting, Robert Sanborn Development.

Members of the Design Development Team include:

VOA-GNY (sponsor, co-developer, owner, and property manager)
Robert Sanborn Development, LLC, (co-developer)
MAP Architects (project architect)
Procida Construction Corp. (general contractor)
Olive Branch Consulting (owner’s representative)
Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP (legal counsel)

Construction on the building will continue into 2020, with leasing expected to begin August-September 2020.