Designed to help improve the lives of high cost users of health care, Boston Road provides 154 units for formerly homeless adults, many of them seniors and living with HIV/AIDS, as well as low-income working adults from the South Bronx.
The building’s internal layout places equal emphasis on private rooms and communal spaces. Shared areas include multi-purpose rooms to accommodate social services and tenant meetings. In addition, there is a large patio and garden, a roof terrace, computer lab, exercise room, bicycle storage and laundry.
The building stands in the Morrisania neighborhood, on the site of the farm owned by James Morris who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Morris offered the farm to the new government as the future Capitol of the United States. When Washington DC was chosen, the South Bronx began its long decline. The colors of the façade are from the colonial era, to recall this past history.
The waving ceiling of the lobby also refers to the geology and topography of the site, where a large rock of schist stood exposed to the weather.
The building has been designed for Energy Star rating. Energy-efficient elements include a green roof and a building management system that regulates electrical, cooling, and lighting systems. Low and non-VOC content finishes are used throughout the interiors to provide a healthy environment for tenants.
