Plans for a pair of four-story residential buildings are taking shape behind Robert Rich Sr. All-High Stadium near McCarthy Park, as BestSelf Behavioral Health teams up with a local developer on an affordable housing project and women's care facility for those getting treatment for addiction.
The nonprofit and Savarino Companies are proposing the new Manhattan Village and Lighthouse Women's Residence as a combined $24 million development totaling 124,200 square feet of space.
It would be located on nearly three acres of vacant land at 389 Manhattan Ave. in the LaSalle neighborhood, sandwiched between the park and stadium, and just behind Ciminelli Real Estate Corp.'s Bethune Lofts on Main Street. Savarino has had the site under contract from owner Meyer Landau of New York City since January, for $399,000.
The goal is not only to meet a need for more affordable housing in the area, but to help those dealing with substance abuse to gain confidence and skills for independent living as they progress toward recovery.
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Lighthouse was planned as a space where "mothers committed to recovering from substance abuse issues can coexist in an environment that promotes progress and change and provides for a safe and nurturing environment for their children as they utilize the programs offered through BestSelf to rid themselves from addiction," wrote architect Matthew Long.
Lighthouse will house both autonomous mothers and children, as well as those still needing more assistance, with separate key access for the two groups, but shared education, cooking, exercise and community facilities.Â
"It will provide housing, nutrition, education, life skills, counseling, to set them on the path to a better future," Long said. "Once women in the congregate side advance to individualized 'apartment' living, they have the liberty to come and go as they please with minimal supervision. Throughout every step, the staff is always present."
According to designs by Long Associates Architects, the proposed Manhattan Village – located right at the corner of Manhattan and Hill Street – would contain 60 affordable apartments in a 67,000-square-foot building.
Those include 40 one-bedroom apartments of about 720 square feet each, 16 two-bedroom units of 945 square feet, and four three-bedroom apartments with 1,145 square feet of space in each. All apartments will include a kitchen, a living and dining area, a bathroom, a mechanical closet and access to a storage unit on the same floor.
The building will also feature a community room with kitchenette on the ground floor, plus a built-in maintenance shed and bicycle storage. Staff offices, trash rooms, onsite laundry and activity rooms are also included.
The Lighthouse building, on the north side of Manhattan, is a residential treatment program certified under the New York State Office of Addictions Services and Supports (OASAS), serving pregnant women and mothers with children up to age 11. It's relocating from the Langfield housing project.
The 57,200-square-foot building would feature 10 independent-living apartments – six 900-square-foot apartments with two bedrooms in each, plus four 980-square-foot units with three bedrooms – and another 12 congregate-care units, including eight two-bedroom units with 570 square feet and four three-bedroom units with 780 square feet. Each will have a bathroom and storage closet.
All units in both buildings will be fully adaptable for handicapped accessibility.
The Lighthouse, which would employ 28 workers on staggered shifts, would also include offices and a conference room on the first floor, as well as a medical area with three nurse rooms, three patient rooms and a medicine room. A "community store" near the entrance would offer a way for residents to use rewards earned for positive rehabilitation gains during treatment.
There would also be three day care rooms – separated by age – near an indoor playground.
Upstairs, a second-floor education area offers three classrooms, an arts and crafts room, a computer room and an observation room, while individual counseling rooms and a congregate lounge area – for socializing and sharing experiences – will be located on the second and third floors.
The third floor will also have a kitchen and dining space, with a separate training kitchen across the hall. A multipurpose room and an exercise room would be located on the fourth floor. And each floor would have staff offices.
Additionally, the building would offer valet trash service with trash rooms, onsite laundry, building storage, a maintenance office and shop, and a garage for three vehicles.
The project includes a total of 75 on-site parking spaces – 42 for Manhattan Village and 33 for Lighthouse. - as well as landscaped greenspace, exterior common patio areas and a public plaza area in front of Manhattan Village to give "residents and sports fans a place to sit and enjoy the sun," according to a letter from architect Matthew Long.
The building designs features a saw-tooth-shaped facade, with metal roofs, black brick at the base and a mixture of grey, white and redwood-colored metal panels above. That's intended to "complement each other like brothers of the same family" while still having "individual personality," according to Long's letter. Lighthouse will have more glass and gable roof lines.
According to Long, Savarino and BestSelf have held three open community meetings, both online on Facebook and at the project site. Plans were already adjusted to account for concerns about privacy and views into adjacent backyards along the curved William Price Parkway in back, with the saw-tooth design and new trees more tightly spaced for screening.
"Although these design solutions do not completely eradicate the problem, they certainly are sincere efforts that do much to mitigate the cited concern," Long wrote.
The project still requires approval and financial support from New York State Homes and Community Renewal, OASAS, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and other state housing assistance programs. The site will also be remediated under the state Brownfield Cleanup Program because of contaminated soil.
If approved, construction for each building would take about 16 months, with the start times staggered.