NYC-based Rose Fellow, Esther Yang working at Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation will be partnering with DesigNYC and Enterprise Community Partners as she executes extensive ground-level and roof top greenspace initiatives for Serviam Gardens, a senior housing development in the Bronx, NY. Serviam Gardens (designed by OCV Architects) is a two-phase, 243-unit, $65 million dollar rental housing development for low- and moderate-income seniors ages 62 and above. The project is comprised of four interconnected buildings, one of which is a renovation of a 3-story existing structure, and resides on the campus of Mt. Saint Ursula’s girl’s high school.
The partnership with DesigNYC and Enterprise will provide Fordham Bedford with pro-bono landscape design services from Robin Key Landscape Architects and a host of in-kind resources for the greenspace initiatives. The green space initiatives include an 8000 square foot rooftop garden terrace and 53,000 square feet of ground-level landscaping.
You can hear more about the DesigNYC partnership on the Brian Lehrer Show, aired February 24, 2010 in New York City.
The ground-level landscaping and roof terrace will serve to promote daily exercise, encourage social activity, provide shaded areas of rest and repose, and facilitate inter-generational connections. The roof-top garden terrace will include multiple planted regions that foster small walking circuits, intimate and large-scaled gathering spaces, shaded alcoves, and an urban farm furnished with handicap accessible raised planter beds.
Robin Key Landscape Architects, Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, and OCV Architects kicked off the projects by acquiring feedback from current Serviam residents. The session was informative and very positive. The design teams were thrilled that some residents volunteered their own hand-drawn sketches and drawings of their landscape visions!
Both projects are expected to begin construction Spring 2010. If you are interested in helping with these initiatives, please contact Rose Fellow Esther Yang at Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation.
