The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is planning to build a Perkins Eastman–designed senior housing complex, “Mill Brook Terrace” in Mott Haven, South Bronx. The scheme is part of NextGen NYCHA, a long-term strategy that involves two other affordable housing projects, both in Brooklyn.

Mill Brook Terrace will be built upon a car park on 570 East 137th Street and will rise to nine stories, housing 159 units. Dwellings will be for senior citizens who earn half or less than the Area Median Income ($36,250 for a family of two, as picked up by New York YIMBY). Standard apartments are set to be 760 square feet in size; 120,900 square feet will be allocated to residential units in the upper levels.

As clarified by Richard Rosen, principal in charge of all senior housing projects for the architects’ New York office, amenities will be located on the ground floor. Here, a 9,000-square-foot senior center will house a commercial kitchen and offer space for senior programming that includes “social service classrooms” for personal care as well as providing hair and bathing services. A neighborhood community area will also feature as will an outdoor garden and a shared second-floor terrace.

The project emerged at the start of 2016 when it appeared a mixed-income development was on the cards. Fast forward to today, and despite facing almost nearly $80 million in federal budget cuts, plans have morphed into an affordable senior living scheme. As part of the housing lottery, current NYCHA residents will be afforded preference on 25 percent of the units available.

Mill Brook Terrace is scheduled for completion in summer 2019. As for the other two housing projects: Ingersoll Houses in Fort Greene, Brooklyn and Van Dyke Houses, in Brownsville, also Brooklyn are also in the works. Land is being leased for 60 years by the NYCHA for all three projects, which means all will be affordable during that tenure.