Bayview Prison Re-formed for Affordable Housing

By Brian J Pape, AIA, LEED-AP

The 9th floor outdoor terrace will provide panoramic views up and down the Hudson River. Rendering courtesy of COOKFOX Architects.

Councilmember Gale Brewer, Assembly­member Linda Rosenthal, and State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, on July 22 joined Governor Kathy Hochul and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine to announce the conversion of the former Bayview Correctional Facility in Chelsea into 124 units of supportive and affordable housing called the Liberty Landing Project.

The original nine-story facility was designed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon and built in 1931, originally housing a YMCA before serving as a detention center for incarcerated women beginning in the 1970s. The structure has sat vacant following floodwater damage to the boilers and electrical systems from Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Over those 12 years, many proposals have been proffered for the site, but none came to fruition — hopefully, this one will.

According to the YIMBY website, Liberty Landing, at 550 West 20th Street will be developed in a joint venture between Camber Property Group and Osborne Association. The $108 million project will involve the repurposing of the 100,000-square-foot Art Deco building and the construction of a seven-story addition atop its parapet, designed by COOKFOX Architects. The development will yield 124 permanently affordable housing units, with 74 dedicated to formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as 15 short-term transitional homes for individuals with mental health challenges, on-site supportive services, and a ninth-floor outdoor terrace. COOKFOX’s design also includes an interior courtyard and a 9,300-square-foot community facility with youth-oriented programming. The on-site supportive services ­will include workforce de­­­velop­ment programs, family and rela­tionship coaching, living skills training, and nutrition education. The transitional homes will be funded by the State Office of Mental Health.

The property is located at the corner of West 20th and West Streets, across from Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers Rec Center, and abutting Jean Nouvel’s residential tower at 100 Eleventh Avenue to the south.

A start and completion date for Liberty Landing has yet to be announced.

The renderings depict the seven-story expansion enclosed in a light brick façade with floor-to-ceiling windows, rounded corners, and capped with a mechanical bulkhead with a matching curved massing, in this view looking southeast from Eleventh Avenue. Rendering courtesy of COOKFOX Architects.

 

“Every New Yorker deserves access to safe, stable, and affordable housing,” said Governor Kathy Hochul. “Liberty Landing represents a significant step forward in our efforts to provide inclusive housing opportunities and support to vulnerable New Yorkers. This innovative project will transform a former symbol of incarceration into a beacon of hope, healing, and opportunity.”

“With decades of experience in reentry support, Osborne is expanding its housing portfolio in direct response to the overrepresentation of older adults and LGBTQIA+ people in our jails and prisons and the dearth of housing options for them when they return to the community,” said Osborne Association President and CEO Jon Monsalve.

To learn more, call or email Hoylman-Sigal’s office at 212-633-8052 or hoylman@nysenate.gov.

Brian J. Pape is a citizen architect LEED-AP “Green” certified, a co-chair of the American Institute of Architects NY Design for Aging Committee, and member of Historic Buildings, Housing, and PassiveHaus Committees. He serves on the Manhattan District 2 Community Board, the Executive Committee and the Landmarks Committee.