Senior housing rising on derelict Bronx lot

Mogam

Rendering of West Tremont Senior Residences, under construction on a former brownfield at W. Tremont and Grand Aves. in Morris Heights

A new development meant for low-income pensioners has broken ground in Morris Heights, promising to turn a derelict patch of overgrown grass into a badly needed asset.

The West Tremont Senior Residences (rendering, inset) will provide affordable housing for seniors on the remediated site of a former brownfield.

The residences will rise six stories on a vacant W. Tremont Ave. lot, near Grand Ave. where a dry-cleaning plant once drained hazardous chemicals into the soil, city records show.

Courtesy NYC HPD

Dignitaries hoist shovelfuls of earth at groundbreaking ceremonies for the West Tremont Senior Residences in Morris Heights

The 14,898-square-foot parcel has been deemed safe for new construction, and officials from several city housing organizations joined the Acacia Network to break ground last month.

The $ 17.4 million project is part of the Bloomberg administration’s multibillion-dollar initiative to finance hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units by 2014. The state will kick in $ 13.7 million in tax credits, and an additional $ 1.7 million from its Housing Trust Fund.

“Providing city-owned land for this purpose offers an immense benefit for all concerned,” said RuthAnne Visnauskas, the commissioner of the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development, adding that finding new land in a city of 8 million is “one of the biggest challenges we face.”

Anyone at least 55 years old will be eligible to apply.