Dattner Architects recently celebrated the opening of a new 26-story affordable housing project in New York City it says sets a new standard for the application of one of the building industry’s most sustainable techniques in the design of high-rise apartment structures.

Located in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, it has 277 total units with a host of on-site community services and is considered the largest passive house building in North America. 

According to a city press release, the $178 million new structure at 425 Grand Concourse is meant specifically for the formerly homeless and those earning between less than 30% and 130% of the median income in an area in which 22% of all residents are considered food insecure.  

“Our administration is focused on creating affordable housing for New Yorkers that doesn’t just help those who move in but enhances the entire community, and 425 Grand Concourse does exactly that,” NYC Mayor Eric Adams said during last week’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Not only will this project create nearly 300 new, affordable homes for Bronxites, but it will also improve the environment locally as New York City’s largest Passive House-certified building in, create economic opportunity for CUNY students through Hostos Community College, and ensure fresh food is accessible to members of the community with a supermarket.”

New York is still lagging considerably in terms of meeting its goals for affordable housing developments citywide, with only 90,000 of the minimum 560,000 units required being currently scheduled for construction by the end of the decade. Its progress towards that end can be made more achievable financially by the energy savings passed on by passive house designs (which are only slightly more expensive to construct), and planning officials now also have a useful model for the scaled-up application of the high-performance method within residential concepts that have traditionally been limited to 10 stories or less.

Other building features include a monumental lobby entrance with a programmable 1,200-square-foot arts space and a 25th-floor terrace that offer rare (and for residents potentially enterprising) top-of-the-line amenities that evoke the considerations and sensibilities of generations of past cause-driven architects like Phillip Birnbaum. 

“This building has given me and my daughter a chance to have a fresh start,” one resident said finally of the promises offered by the new development. “When I first arrived here, I was stunned. I couldn't even speak. [425 Grand Concourse] is a big step in revitalizing our Bronx community, and it's helping many other families who have come from extreme adversities like myself."