Westhab Awarded $1,000,000 in Buildings of Excellence Competition

Yonkers, NY—Westhab, Inc. was recently awarded $1,000,000 in round two of New York State’s Buildings of Excellence Competition for the design of Hudson Hill, a low-carbon emitting multi-family building in Yonkers, New York. This competition supports the goals outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) which places New York State on a path to economy-wide carbon neutrality and mandates an 85 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“Hudson Hill will bring safe, affordable, resilient housing to low- and moderate-income individuals and families, while incorporating both proven and novel technologies and strategies to reduce energy consumption, increase healthy living, and lower the building’s carbon footprint,” says Westhab’s Senior Vice President of Real Estate, Andrew Germansky. “By emphasizing cost-effectiveness from site identification through design development, we’re demonstrating that affordable housing can be high-quality, replicable, and sustainable, and we believe that no one should be left behind as we work to build a cleaner New York. Thank you to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for this incredible recognition.”

Overlooking the Hudson River at 76 Locust Hill Avenue in Yonkers, Hudson Hill will be a six-story, 113-unit affordable housing development. All of the units will be permanent housing reserved for families earning no more than 60 percent of the area median income for Westchester County. Forty-five of the units will be supportive housing for formerly homeless tenants with funding from New York State’s Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI). Hudson Hill will utilize high-efficiency, fully electric building systems including electric air source heat pumps for heating and cooling and domestic hot water. On-site renewable energy generation from a large rooftop solar photovoltaic system will complement the building’s fully electric design.

Westhab is reducing the building’s carbon footprint by incorporating sustainable insulation and locally-sourced Yonkers Granite into the high-performing, airtight building exterior. The indoor community rooms, including the veranda on the building’s top floor, and outdoor garden will deliver breathtaking views and create an environment that provides refuge for the residents of the building. In keeping with Westhab’s mission of Building Communities. Changing Lives., Hudson Hill will bring family-friendly, multi-generational affordable housing to a growing New York City suburban environment, making it both environmentally and socio-economically sustainable.

About the team:

Westhab, Inc. is the developer and owner of Hudson Hill. Founded in 1981, Westhab is Westchester’s largest provider of housing and services for the homeless and its largest nonprofit developer of affordable and supportive housing. Amie Gross Architects (AGA), Hudson Hill’s project architect, specializes in working with nonprofit organizations that support low- and moderate-income communities in New York State. EP Engineering is the project MEP engineer with over 15 years of experience and Bright Power, a premier provider of energy services, is the project energy consultant.

About the Buildings of Excellence Competition:

The Buildings of Excellence Competition, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), was launched in March 2019 and is the only competition of its kind. The awarded projects will become part of a comprehensive data collection effort that will help determine how to cost-effectively deliver superior performing buildings that will serve as essential building blocks of a carbon-neutral future and advance the design and construction of multi-family buildings.

Westhab’s Hudson Hill was selected in round two for its low carbon performance, profitability, ability to be adopted broadly, and for creating a healthy and safe living environment. This project will also provide comprehensive data on design, construction, and cost that can be analyzed and shared to increase the number of low- to zero-carbon buildings in New York State. For a complete list of the 42 winning projects statewide, please visit NYSERDA’s Buildings of Excellence website.

NYSERDA Acting President and CEO, Doreen M. Harris said, “As we press toward New York’s nation-leading climate goal to reduce greenhouse gases 85 percent by 2050, Hudson Hill is an example of how forward-thinking approaches can help us meet our goals while providing safe, comfortable and healthy housing to our state’s most vulnerable residents. We congratulate Westhab, Inc. on their Buildings of Excellence award and commend them for combining low-carbon and highly energy efficient technologies that provide meaningful benefits to the residents and surrounding community in this project.”

About Westhab, Inc.:

Yonkers-based Westhab, Inc. is Westchester’s largest provider of housing and services for the homeless and its largest nonprofit developer of affordable and supportive housing. Westhab is also established in New York City where it currently operates ten homeless shelters, three out-of-school-time programs in NYC schools, and serves as the lead Community-Based Organization at two community schools. Since Westhab’s founding in 1981, it has built 912 affordable housing units, moved 8,635 households from homelessness into permanent housing, placed 6,815 people into employment, and delivered services to over 10,000 homeless and at-risk youth. For more information, please visit www.westhab.org.

About Amie Gross Architects (AGA):

We are Amie Gross Architects, and for over thirty-five years we have been bringing community inspired buildings and interior environments to people of all means and needs. Our work on the front lines of New York’s affordability crisis has turned us into national leaders in the fields of affordable and supportive housing and civic architecture. Our passion is to create thoughtfully designed, aesthetically rich spaces that further the missions of our clients. We understand that every project poses its own unique set of challenges yet, we begin each undertaking with the confidence that the breadth and depth of our experience will enable us to provide high quality solutions, regardless of a project’s size, budget, or complexity. For more information, please visit https://www.amiegrossarchitects.com/.

About Bright Power:

Bright Power provides strategic energy and water solutions to building owners and operators across the nation. Specializing in multifamily apartment buildings, Bright Power has worked with over 1,600,000 apartments that cover 1,600,000,000 square feet. Bright Power’s energy management solutions include EnergyScoreCards benchmarking software, energy audits, energy procurement, on-site generation, green building design services, turnkey installation of energy improvements, and ongoing energy management. For more information, please visit www.brightpower.com.

About EP Engineering:

EP Engineering is an MEP firm that not only prioritizes the mechanics of our building projects but embraces the importance of our team that serves the builds. Our foundation is built on using the highest quality standards, while strictly adhering to industry regulations. Above all, we prioritize each of our client’s needs and concerns. Our office culture is equally important, as we invest in the health, wellness, and overall satisfaction of each of our employees, whilst simultaneously providing a sustainable environment. For more information, please visit https://www.epengineering.com/