A new $42 million housing development in West Harlem has opened its doors to low income residents who were recently been behind bars.
The green complex, unveiled in September and dubbed “the Castle Gardens,” boasts Energy Star appliances, a green roof, aluminum solar shades, and other environmentally friendly traits. It is operated by the Fortune Society, a nonprofit that helps former convicts make their way back into society.
According to the Fortune Society, the new 110,000 square-foot building on 140th Street will provide 114 apartments for homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals.
Monthly rents in the building range from $624 for a studio to $1127 for a three-bedroom apartment. Eligibility for low-income residents is 60 percent or less of the area median income of the surrounding neighborhood.
“This is a place of real hope. It is a place where dreams will be made, where families will thrive, and, make no mistake, where lives will be saved,” said JoAnne Page, the president and CEO of the Fortune Society for over 20 years, in a press release.
Jonathan Rose Companies, a planning firm which managed the construction of the project, implemented green technologies, such as a high-efficiency boiler and toxic-free sealants.
For nearby residents, though, it’s the atypical residential population that has caught their eyes.
“I think it’s good for the neighborhood,” West Harlem resident Angela Hopkins said. “They’ve got to live somewhere, right?”
In addition to a green lifestyle, the complex provides its tenants with resources to help them reintegrate into society, like a computer lab, counseling services, financial planning, and life skills development courses.
Ex-convicts in transition are not new to the block.
The new Castle Gardens is adjacent to “the Castle,” a different complex also run by the Fortune Society that has been housing formerly incarcerated residents for around a decade.
Timothy Bryant, a member of the Fortune Society who was released from prison several months ago, said that the Castle has been a vital support system for him.
“It’s been a place for me to get back on my feet,” Bryant said. “I think it’ll be an asset to the community.”
Despite concerns about a large population of ex-convicts in the area, nearby residents say that the Fortune Society hasn’t been a problem.
Alex Colgan, who has lived across the street from “the Castle” for decades, said that despite “quite a concentration of convicts,” he’s never noticed anything out of the ordinary on the block. Since the opening of the original Castle, he said, “nothing untoward occurred.”
Bryant said residents in Fortune Society buildings aren’t likely to cause any trouble.
“They can avail themselves of the education and the training programs and such,” he said. “People coming out of prison want to make a fresh start.”
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