Along-dormant housing style that once defined the more affluent sections of the Bronx is back in the New York borough, and surprisingly, it is subsidized senior housing.
Casella Plaza is a new seven-story stone and brick building consisting of 99 individual apartments. Seniors who can no longer afford their current two- or three-bedroom apartments but still wish to remain in the neighborhood will occupy them.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funded the $9.5 million project, which specifies that units be at a maximum of 540 square feet. Aquinas Housing Corp., a non-profit organization that provides housing and other social services to Bronx residents, hired Monadnock Construction to erect the building.
Architect Michael Avramides states that not only is the style connected to the neighborhood’s heritage, but the name Casella comes from a family of community leaders with a long history of service to the borough. He also wanted the building’s style to belie its purpose as public housing.
"I wanted to get away from the 'institutional' feeling associated with this type of building," says Avramides.
To this end, the building features wood surrounds at apartment entrances, mullioned windows, a greenhouse, soft lighting and rich colors. Iron-spot brick and pre-cast concrete highlights allow the building to blend with the neighborhood, and $487 per month rents allow low-income families to stay there.
