450-unit affordable housing development planned for New York Botanical Garden property
Corner of Webster Avenue and Bedford Park Boulevard; Map data © 2020 Google
A two-building development with 450 affordable housing units will be constructed on property owned by the New York Botanical Garden, developers announced Tuesday. Douglaston Development has entered a 99-year lease with NYBG for a lot on Webster Avenue and Bedford Park Boulevard, located about a block from the 250-acre garden.
The project’s first phase includes a building at 2856 Webster Avenue with 188 units designated for seniors earning up to 50 percent of the area median income (AMI). On-site services from Fordham Bedford Community Services will be provided.
Phase two involves a 260-affordable rental at 410 Bedford Park Boulevard, with units set aside for New Yorkers earning between 30 and 130 percent of the AMI. A portion of these units will be for formerly homeless families, as Norwood News first reported. Both buildings are expected to be 12 stories tall.
“Douglaston is thrilled to begin a partnership with the New York Botanical Garden on this community-driven development,” Jeffrey Levine, founder of Douglaston, said in a statement. “We are looking forward to continuing to expand our Bronx footprint through a project that will not only bring more affordable housing options to the area, but additional benefits to the greater community.”
The site is currently home to the grocery store, Cherry Valley Supermarket. The store will continue to operate during phase one of the project until it can move to its new store on the ground floor of 410 Bedford Park, a Douglaston executive told Norwood News. The market would be connected to both buildings.
The deal marks the first official foray into residential real estate for NYBG, although in 2016 it did suggest building a hotel on the same lot following a 2011 rezoning of Webster Avenue. Those plans failed to materialize.
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