Combining affordable housing with a library reduced the cost of the project and gives residents access to essential resources.
A new affordable housing development in Brooklyn is located above a public library branch, reports Kristin Toussaint in Fast Company. “This project, in the borough’s Sunset Park neighborhood, is the first of its kind in New York City—and also marks the first new affordable housing developed in Sunset Park in more than 20 years.” The project features 49 units of permanently affordable housing.
Combining the two projects allowed the city to save money on the library’s reconstruction and add to the city’s affordable housing stock. “Funding came in part from proceeds of another branch’s property sale, capital funding from the city, from offices of local elected officials including the borough president, a construction loan, and Low Income Housing Tax Credits that covered the residential portion.”
In addition to books and educational resources, libraries provide crucial free access to resources such as computers, job resources, homework assistance, and children’s programming. Linda Johnson, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library, hopes that for the new residents, the branch will “be like their living room.”
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