The Bedford Union Armory, originally built in 1903, has been repurposed and reimagined as a vital hub for the Crown Heights, Brooklyn community.
The mixed-use development combines vitally needed recreational and after-school programs, cultural activities, and support services in one facility. The project also includes 415 units of affordable and market rate housing in two additional buildings.
Now called the Major R. Owens Health & Wellness Community Center, the project includes a swimming pool, dance studios, an indoor soccer field, and multiple basketball, volleyball, and tennis courts. The interior space can be adapted to host a range of activities from farmers’ markets to films and community meetings. The center also has space for non-profits to provide on-site tutoring, counseling, cultural programming, and LGBT support services.
Bedford Court, the project’s residential component, includes an 82,000-sf, eight story, 60-unit affordable residential building with a medical facility, and a 320,000-sf, 15-story rental residential building that offers 355 market rate and affordable units. The lower building sits along the southern edge of the Armory while the larger residential building occupies a through-lot condition, spanning from President to Union Street.
The project preserved nearly 84% of the original armory building. New York City architecture firm Marvel designed the project for developer BFC.
Related Stories
Projects | Mar 18, 2022
Toronto suburb to build the largest hospital in Canada
A new hospital in Ontario will nearly triple the care capacity of its existing facility—becoming the largest hospital in Canada.
Projects | Mar 15, 2022
Old Sears store will become one of the largest orthopaedics outpatient facilities in the Northeast
A former Sears store in Rochester, N.Y., will be transformed into one of the largest orthopaedics outpatient facilities in the Northeast.
Projects | Mar 3, 2022
Move, lift, restore: Repurposing a former post office near San Francisco
In mid-February, a construction crew began lifting a 1940s post office building located in Burlingame, Calif., on the San Francisco Peninsula.
Higher Education | Mar 1, 2022
SRG Partnership designs a nautically inspired space for maritime science
A community college in Oregon has begun construction on a new building devoted to maritime science. With it, the school hopes to solidify its position as a major industrial and marine technology center in the Pacific Northwest.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Jan 26, 2022
Bruner/Cott Architects revives a historic horse and bicycle racing complex
The original complex was built in 1899.
Sponsored | Reconstruction & Renovation | Jan 25, 2022
Concrete buildings: Effective solutions for restorations and major repairs
Architectural concrete as we know it today was invented in the 19th century. It reached new heights in the U.S. after World War II when mid-century modernism was in vogue, following in the footsteps of a European aesthetic that expressed structure and permanent surfaces through this exposed material. Concrete was treated as a monolithic miracle, waterproof and structurally and visually versatile.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Jan 24, 2022
Marvel leads restoration and redesign of El Yunque Visitors’ Center
The project cost $18.1 million.
Adaptive Reuse | Dec 16, 2021
An adaptive reuse of a historic building in San Francisco was worth the wait
A five-year-long project included extensive restoration.
Giants 400 | Dec 5, 2021
2021 Reconstruction Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. building reconstruction and renovation sector
STO Building Group, Alfa Tech Consulting Engineers, Gensler, and Stantec top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest reconstruction sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2021 Giants 400 Report.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Oct 13, 2021
Restoration of Ramova Theater in Chicago’s Bridgeport Neighborhood begins
The building was originally built in 1929.
