BY JACKSON CHEN | An Upper West Side transitional homeless shelter is moving beyond its current mission of providing beds on a temporary basis with an expansion project that introduces a large chunk of permanent affordable housing.
The proposed development on West 108th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues could bring anywhere from 190 to 280 new permanent units, while increasing its stock of transitional lodgings to 110.
According to the West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing (WSFSSH), the expansion of its Valley Lodge location will include a mix of studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments, but also include room to grow the exiting stock of 92 transitional beds by 18.
Valley Lodge, located at 149 West 108th Street, currently functions as a transitional shelter serving that portion of the homeless population aged 50 or older. The nonprofit organization aims to create a roomier, state-of-the-art facility to replace the current building that has been in operation since 1988, according to Paul Freitag, WSFSSH’s executive director.
The new development involves the construction of two buildings, ranging from seven to 11 stories in height, that will bookend the Anibal Aviles Playground. WSFSSH’s proposal requires the demolition of the current facility and three nearby garages owned by the city’s Housing Preservation and Development agency, which, along with other city agencies, has already expressed support.
To the west of the playground, the larger Building 1 will house both the 110 transitional beds and between 145 and 200 units of permanent affordable housing units. To the playground’s east, Building 2 will have between 45 and 80 units of permanently affordable housing for senior citizens.
Both buildings will have access to support services and community facilities the organization is planning to incorporate into the overall project. Freitag explained that his group is considering the addition of a public general-purpose health clinic as part of the development to serve the local community, and will include public bathrooms as a convenience for users of nearby parks.
The nonprofit is currently proposing a development that complies with the R8B zoning for Valley Lodge and which it can proceed on as of right. However, the group has also presented another option involving a taller building that includes 90 more units of affordable housing. That option is dependent on a rezoning to R8A.
WSFSSH will look to the reaction by Community Board 7 and the community generally as it decides which option to purse. That decision will determine the number of units the new development can accommodate.
“We could go either way, but the message we got from everyone is that we’re in an affordable housing crisis,” Freitag said. “And we want to provide more affordable housing.”
The project was first brought in front of CB7 on December 16 for a preliminary informational meeting, and was expected to return to its Land Use Committee on February 17, but venue difficulties forced a postponement to March 16, according to Penny Ryan, CB7’s district manager.
Freitag said WSFSSH would present a traffic study to CB7 at the upcoming meeting.
During the construction process that is expected to last two years, current tenants of Valley Lodge would be relocated to another building. Freitag added that they’d like to relocate all tenants to one building, but space availability may have them splitting the residents into two different buildings.
Once the expansion is completed, the tenants would be welcomed back into a new facility with many more neighbors.
A tenant, who identified herself as Rusty, said the expansion is a positive move that allows the building to take in more homeless people who need a chance.
“I’d like to see more people off the streets and off the subway,” Rusty said. “They could use a place to get them off the streets… I feel for them.”
Living in Valley Lodge for more than a year now, Rusty said she’s been waiting since December for the opportunity to move into more permanent housing.
The organization hopes to begin construction of the new facility in the summer of 2017. Once finished, Freitag said, WSFSSH will begin leasing the apartments in the summer of 2019 and expects the new facility to be fully housed six months later.
