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Kingsboro PLACE

Partnership for Life, Arts, Culture and Education

Project Date
2020
Location
Brooklyn, NY
Role
Project Lead
Organization
Cooper Robertson
Lead Client
BFC Partners
Development Cost
$600 million
Collaborators
SLCE, S9 Architecture,
W Landscape Architecture

Cooper Robertson was invited by a consortium of developers and sheltered housing providers to prepare a dynamic and community-focused master plan for a dense urban site in Flatbush, Brooklyn. I led design and development of the proposal.

Kingsboro PLACE is a proposal for a community-focused affordable housing development sited on a portion of the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center in East Flatbush, designed in response to the New York state’s $1.4 billion Vital Brooklyn initiative, a program managed by Empire State Development in collaboration with New York State Homes and Community Renewal.

Primary Responsibilites:

  • Project lead and client liaison.
  • Pro-forma test fit analysis.
  • Zoning / land use analysis.
  • Consultant coordination.
  • Proposal assembly.

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Programming Health and Wellness

Kingsboro PLACE seeks to remove barriers to healthy living linked to race or ethnicity, education, income, location, or other social factors. The master plan incorporated a wide ranged of associated programming, including:

    1. Grocery Store
    2. Health Clinic
    3. Archery / Fencing Training Center
    4. BRIC Support Center
    5. Amphitheater & Bandshell
    6. Fitness Center
    7. Garden Learning Center & Kitchen
    8. Green Energy & Cogen Training Center

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Development Proposal

Phase 1

The project is proposed to be built in two primary phases, starting on the eastern portion of site. Phase 1 provides over 400 units of supportive and affordable housing, as well as new community facilities, retail units and two new homeless shelters to replace those already on the site.

Phase 1 will host two supportive housing populations: chronically homeless individuals, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Through a partnership with Comunilife, a supportive service provider, Phase 1 will also provide new homes for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI). The integration of individuals with SMI into the fabric of the community is a key principle of Kingsboro PLACE.

Phase 2

The second phase will be built on the western portion of the site, and will incorporate over 500 new affordable housing units, over 20,000 square feet of community facility and over 26,000 square feet of retail/flexible space.

Phase 2 will include a Senior Housing building and a mixed-income affordable housing rental building. Phase 2 will also include a new healthcare facility and a new grocey store.

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The project proposes a new 1-acre public park as it's spine: Kingsboro Commons:

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