Betances Family Apartments

The Betances Houses comprise a “scattered site” New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) development in the Mott Haven area of the Bronx. Under their NextGen program NYCHA is opening up areas within the Betances complex for new development by independent affordable housing developers.

Think! designed Betances VI which has been developed by Lemle & Wolff in conjunction with Alembic Community Development and The Bridge. It is a 15 story, 98,000 square foot building with 101 deeply affordable residential units for low income families, with 30 set aside for formerly homeless individuals including veterans.

In addition to the apartments which range from studios to three bedrooms, the building features amenities such as a children’s playroom, bike storage, 24/7 building security and a generous second floor community room that opens out onto a landscaped rooftop terrace.

Additionally, The Bridge will provide on-site supportive services, including case management, benefits counseling, and links to community mental health, dental, and substance use services. On the ground floor, 10,000 square feet is set aside for commercial use, creating opportunities for local businesses.

The exterior design is based on a simple light colored grid, infilled with windows and panels of muted colors. To break the repetition of this gridded pattern, and to mitigate the significant scale of a 15-story tower in a predominantly 5 or 6 story neighborhood, Think! devised a darker recessed band that spirals around the tower’s mid-section in order to break down the building mass and better relate to the adjacent NYCHA housing.

It took eight years to realize, but this project is a testament to the determination of the team and the power of public and private partnerships in addressing the city's affordable housing shortage.