Developer: The Hudson Cos., Inc.
Architect: MHG Architects, P.C.
Major Funders: Battery Park City Housing Trust Fund; Brooklyn borough president; NYC Acquisition Fund, LLC; NYC Housing Development Corp.; NYC Housing Preservation and Development; New York State Energy Research Development Authority; Bank of America Merrill Lynch; The Richman Group Affordable Housing Corp.
More than 10,000 people applied for a chance to live at Dumont Green—a new apartment building in the neighborhood of East New York on the ragged boundary between Brooklyn and Queens.
“People ask me: ”˜Why did you build it here instead of Manhattan?'” says Aaron Koffman, director of affordable housing for The Hudson Cos., Inc. “I say: ”˜Doesn't your neighborhood deserve a beautiful building, too?'”
For The Hudson Cos., that meant sustainable development. Dumont is topped with the largest photovoltaic energy system ever installed on an apartment building in the city. The 80.5-kilowatt system will provide power to cover 80 percent of the laundry facilities and common area usage.
Dumont meets the high standards set by Enterprise Green Communities and is 26 percent more energy efficient than comparable buildings that meet local building codes. Solid construction and affordable rents drew residents to the new building. Its 176 apartments range from studio to three-bedroom units, all with huge windows, oak floors, and Energy Star-rated appliances.
Hudson also paid careful attention to the air quality for the building.
“We wanted people to come home and really get a breath of fresh air,” says Koffman.
The last work was completed in early 2011 on the $50.6 million building, which cost $288,000 per unit to develop. All the apartments are reserved for low-income residents, and one in every five units is reserved for formerly homeless people.
