Precast concrete used for affordable, sustainable housing in New York

As part of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s $7.5 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan to provide affordable housing for 500,000 New Yorkers, Oldcastle Precast provided structural precast concrete building components for the new development at Forest Houses in New York.

It is part of the largest municipal housing plan in the nation.

The development at Forest House is a “green” and energy saving designed, precast concrete building, manufactured by Oldcastle Precast, containing 124 affordable units available to households making 60% of the AMI or less. The 109,000-sf building also contains a superintendent’s unit, landscaped open space, and 43 underground parking spaces under the first level and features a unique rooftop, commercial greenhouse that will yield 80,000 to 100,000-lb of fresh produce a year and be distributed to residents and local markets in the Bronx.

Oldcastle manufactured 136,162-sf of precast concrete hollow core plank for the floors and roof, which was specifically design to handle the unique load of a roof top greenhouse and 70,000-sf of precast concrete wall panels to construct an energy efficient building envelope for the eight-story Forest House Development building. The exterior precast walls were cast with Glen-Gery thin-brick and sandblast type finish with colored concrete to provide a comprehensive exterior finish.

In addition to the housing structure, a Storm Capture Reuse System was installed to handle approximately 16,000 gallons of captured water. An equipment package treats the captured water making it available for irrigation to the roof-mounted hydroponic greenhouse, providing another unique feature to this environmentally friendly project.

This is the 5th total precast concrete building solution that developer Blue Sea Development and Oldcastl have worked together on in the past 10 years.

The development team consists of Blue Sea Development Co., Blue Sea Construction Co., LLC, ABS Architects and TY Lyn International. The team was selected due to its history of developing quality affordable housing that is both attractive & sustainable. The project is scheduled for completion December 2012 and is seeking LEED Certification. BD+C

Boyd R. Zoccola is Chair and Chief Elected Officer of BOMA International. A BOMA member since 1994, he has served on the Executive, Finance, Investment, and Medical/Healthcare Facilities Committees. An Indiana Real Estate Principal Broker and a board member of the Real Estate Round Table, he is Executive Vice President of Hokanson Companies, Inc., of Indianapolis, and has been involved in the development of $600 million worth of real estate. On a volunteer basis, Zoccola was president of Horizon House and a board member of Girls, Inc. He holds a BA in biology from Indiana University.