With support from the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation (MOER), Hester Street is collaborating with We Stay/Nos Quedamos (NQ) to take a place-based, community-driven approach to identify strategic development sites in support of the newly-formed South Bronx Land and Community Resource Trust (SBL&CRT) in the Melrose area of the South Bronx. This Community Brownfield Planning study provides a unique opportunity to advance the Melrose community’s vision for long-term affordability, community ownership and resident-powered development in the face of rising displacement.
The planning study examined new and planned developments in the South Bronx as well potential opportunities for sustainable growth through a variety of community-informed lenses, including the CLT approach. The goal is to advance permanent affordability and self-determination through the creation of a planning framework for the SBL&CRT, as well as strategic proposals for both residential and mixed-use development opportunities, that will ensure that residents can remain and thrive. For the report and study, HST researched current CLT models; developed a study of vacant land areas; mapped strategic sites for acquisition and development; produced neighborhood analyses and design concepts; and engaged stakeholders and community members throughout the process.
This study follows Community Brownfield Planning studies Hester Street also completed in Edgemere and Flushing, Queens in 2018. Our full report on the SBL&CRT was published in October 2020 – read it here.
