Sol on Park Wins Seniors First Morris RFP
Focusing on Health and sustainability, MAP designed the 195-unit, mixed-use building for developers NRP Group, Selfhelp and Foxy Management. The Development will bring affordable senior housing and services to the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx.
The excerpts below are from NYC HPD press release:
HPD joins NYCHA and HDC to announce plans to build approximately 195 deeply affordable homes for seniors in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx.
Rendering of Sol on Park
The Sol on Park development will give rise to a 15-story mixed-use building paired with a new community health center, a nutrition education facility, and career-training spaces accessible to residents and the community at-large.
Magnusson Architecture and Planning brought to life the development’s health-focused design. The new apartments allow for natural light and ventilation while creating a sense of eyes on the streets and connection to the community. Additionally, the homes are designed to have distinct spaces for cooking, dining, socializing, and sleeping. Cascading roof terraces, multiple floors of community space, a large pedestrian plaza and a shared walkway with the adjacent NYCHA campus will top off the development’s dynamic design.
Sol on Park is also designed to achieve a LEED Platinum Rating for sustainable design, an ENERGY STAR certification for emitting fewer greenhouse gases, and the highest rating from Fitwel, which sets global standards for the building design and development practices in support of healthier and equitable access to a higher quality of life.
“Aging in place with dignity is an essential theme of Sol on Park, driving a design process that went from the inside out,” said Magnusson Architecture & Planning’s Director of Planning and Urban Design Brian Loughlin. “Turning the floor plates 45-degrees will yield light-filled apartments with multiple exposures and alcoves for more livable spaces. An emphasis on indoor air quality, healthy materials, access to the outdoors and shared amenity spaces, will bolster both mental and physical health. Opportunities for socialization and connections to neighbors continue through thoughtful urban design. The building’s site placement, terraced massing, and pedestrian-friendly open spaces preserve light and air between the nearby structures and make the development’s health-focused community programming easily accessible to residents of the surrounding area.”
“Housing is health; health is housing”
The development team gave the project the theme “housing is health; health is housing,” speaking to its design and features that promote healthy living and healthy lifestyles. NYCHA and HPD sought community input to determine the development’s public-facing facilities and partnered with highly regarded local organizations on utilizing 11,500 square feet of space for new community resources including new healthcare, nutrition, and career training facilities.