Spotlight on Affordable Housing

Projects on the boards are pictured above from left to right, clockwise:

Catchlight Crossings, Orlando, FL: A new vision for affordable housing, designed to enhance the lifestyle of its residents.

Client: Wendover Housing Partners. Read more

405-407 West 206th Street, New York, NY:  Three mixed-income towers planned and designed by BBB will contain market-rate and affordable homes, and house the Immigrant Research and Performing Arts Center led by Peoples Theatre Project.

Client: LMXD, Taconic Partners, & MSquared. Read more

Langston Terrace Dwellings, Washington, DC: Revitalization or a 1930s campus—designed & built by African Americans in the International Style—aims to empower residents through economic opportunity, improved quality of life, and increased connectivity.

Client: DC Housing Authority. Read more

Verdae Development Master Plan, Greenville, SC: A blueprint for a vibrant and inclusive mixed-use district to support innovative growth and opportunity.

Client: Hollingsworth Funds. Read more

BBB's current portfolio in social housing is informed by its past; we established our roots in affordable housing and community development. One of BBB’s first projects was a collaboration with Jane Jacobs and members of Manhattan’s Community Board 2 on a plan for the Greenwich Village waterfront. By seeking to re-use and revitalize buildings rather than demolish them, BBB was at the forefront of the sustainability movement. Pictured below are some of BBB's earliest affordable housing projects during the firm's first two decades.

Left to right, clockwise: South Street Seaport Master Plan (1973, New York, NY); Original Phoenix House Sketches by John Beyer (1968, Brooklyn, NY); Greenwich Village Waterfront Study (1969, New York, NY); Park Slope Housing (1969, Brooklyn, NY); 2401 Philadelphia (1971, Philadelphia, PA); Opening of BBB New York Office, 31 Union Square West (1968, New York, NY)

Left to right, clockwise: Villa Borinquen Affordable Housing (1976, Jersey City, NJ); Westgate Village (1974, Chester County, PA); Montana Eve Restaurant (1977, New York, NY); Miami Beach Civic and Convention Center (1976, Miami, FL); Downtown Improvement District (1977, Cumberland, MD); Fort Lauderdale Downtown Plan (1976, Fort Lauderdale, FL)

In the 1970s, the firm’s work on historic buildings in sensitive urban sites was diversified with larger-scale planning projects in the tri-state area and beyond. At the end of its first decade, BBB had established itself as a mission-driven architecture and planning firm.