In partnership with Settlement Housing Fund, Two Bridges co-sponsored the redevelopment of the Two Bridges Urban Renewal Area, formerly a district of tenements and dilapidated commercial buildings along the East River Waterfront between the Manhattan Bridge and Corlear’s Hook.
Between 1972 and 1997, when the last building in the urban renewal district was completed, Two Bridges succeeded in creating nearly 1,500 units of low- and moderate-income housing, much of which will remain permanently affordable.
1975: Two Bridges Houses, 286 South Street. Developed in 1975 by Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and Settlement Housing Fund through the “turnkey” program of the New York City Housing Authority, which now owns and operates it. Two Bridges Houses, a 26-story project bordered by Clinton, South, Cherry, and Montgomery Streets, provides 250 units of low-income public housing and a community center.
1977: Land’s End I, 257 South Street. Co-developed by Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and Settlement Housing Fund. This 19-story tower, completed in 1977, included 260 units of federally subsidized Mitchell Lama housing.
1979: Lands End II, 265-275 Cherry Street. New York City’s first Section 8 family project, was developed by Two Bridges Neighborhood Council in partnership with Settlement Housing Fund. Its two 26-story towers, located on Cherry Street between Rutgers Slip and Jefferson Street, include 490 units of low-income housing. Completed in 1979, the project offered tax benefits to investors in return for providing housing for low-income families. Tenants pay thirty percent of their income toward rent and the federal government pays the balance.
1983: Pathmark Supermarket, Cherry & Pike Streets. Brought a major supermarket into an underserved neighborhood. The Pathmark & Pathmark Pharmacy were tenant-financed through the Federal Home Loan Bank CIP Program.
Two Bridges also helped create the running track at Murray Bertram High School, now Verizon Field, located between Cherry & South Streets and Pike & Market Slip.
1985: Two Bridges Townhouses, 291 Cherry Street. Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and Settlement Housing Fund co-developed the Two Bridges Townhouses, located on Cherry Street between Clinton and Jefferson Streets. Construction of these 57 moderate-income condominiums began in 1983 and was completed in 1985. This was one of the few successful projects created under the HUD Section 235 program, which lowered mortgage payments by providing interest subsidies for moderate-income homebuyers. The City assisted in the project’s development through real estate tax reductions and a grant for construction costs.
1989: Two Bridges Senior Apartments, 80 Rutgers Slip. Completed in 1989, the ten-story building provides 109 units of housing for the elderly and disabled. The federal and city governments provide subsidies, tax reductions, and loans and to keep the rents affordable. Two Bridges Senior Apartments Services, operated by Hamilton-Madison House, provides on-site social services, meals, and activities.
1997: Two Bridges Tower, 82 Rutgers Slip. Co-developed and co-owned by Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and Settlement Housing Fund, the 21-story Two Bridges Tower’s 198 housing units include 59 apartments reserved for homeless families and 40 units for families earning less than 60% of median income; 97 units are affordable to families earning 80% of median income. The rent-stabilized building will remain permanently affordable mixed-income housing. Every floor is mixed economically & ethnically. To serve the special needs of the project’s diverse group of tenants, Hamilton-Madison House provides on-site social services. Completed in 1997, Two Bridges Tower was the final project to be developed in the Two Bridges Urban Renewal Area.