Construction is now complete on Chestnut Commons, a 275-unit affordable housing project in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. The property is located at 110 Dinsmore Place and was developed in collaboration by MHANY Management, Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, and Urban Builders Collaborative with support from New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Housing Development Corporation.
Available homes range from one- to three-bedroom floor plans and will be reserved for individuals and households between 20 and 80 percent area media income (AMI). There are also 55 units designated for formerly homeless New Yorkers.
Designed by Dattner Architects, Chestnut Commons is a Passive House-certified project, a building materials and design standard that yields highly efficient structures with greater air tightness, air quality, natural light, and circulation. The building also features a roof-level solar array, a rooftop garden, and an on-site composting system that generates fertilizer.
City officials and project partners celebrate completion of Chestnut Commons
Close up view of Chestnut Commons
Chestnut Commons community center
Cypress Hills Cafe at the Chestnut Commons Community Center
“Chestnut Commons is an excellent example of what happens when partners with the same goals in mind come together to build safe, connective, and sustainable spaces for our neighbors,” said Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso. “With social services, job support, recreational spaces, and so much more, this affordable housing project exemplifies what it means to build a community. Better yet, these 275 homes are all permanently affordable, reflect community input, and incorporate environmental elements like solar panels and a rooftop garden.”
The Cypress Hills East New York Community center occupies the ground floor and offers a rotating schedule of programming powered by the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, CUNY Kingsborough Community College, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and more. On-site facilities include a computer lab, a gym and fitness studio, and a commercial kitchen that will serve as an incubator for neighborhood culinary businesses.
There are also three retail suites on the ground level offered below market rate for local businesses. As of today, two retail tenants have been confirmed: Brooklyn Federal Credit Union and East Brooklyn Mutual Aid.
“Chestnut Commons combines all the aspects of healthy living, with homes for the lowest-income New Yorkers and those who formerly experienced homelessness, space for the community and small businesses, and sustainability best practices,” said New York City mayor Eric Adams. “This project delivers on priorities for the community in East New York, including, most importantly, hundreds of affordable homes.”
Aerial view of Chestnut Commons
Chestnut Commons is the latest and largest development to debut as a result of the East New York Neighborhood Plan. Passed in 2016, the plan successfully rezoned hundreds of parcels on the border of Cypress Hill and East New York, primarily surrounding Atlantic Avenue, Conduit Boulevard, and Pennsylvania Avenue. By 2030, the plan is expected to create nearly 6,500 new apartments.
Funding for Chestnut Commons included HDC Tax-Exempt Bonds, HDC and HPD subsidies, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and Brownfield Cleanup Program Tax Credits. Private sources of funding include Bank of America and Reso A funds from former council member Rafael L. Espinal and mayor Adams during his time as Brooklyn borough president.
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This trend of using color to make flat facades seem more dynamic is going to age horribly.
In some cases yes. In general i’d like to see more affordable buildings not being afraid to be boring. Throw in some ornamental banded brickwork with plain projection… but there is no need to try to “jazz it up” and mask the utilitarian form with obnoxious colors and hombres. I agree on that. That being said i do think this development looks pretty decent. I also wish these big square box style affordible developments would opt for flanking towers with a shorter connecting base rather than a refrigerator shaped human storage facility.
This will be open during Open House NY weekend.