Sendero Verde
East Harlem, NY
Largescale affordable housing development in East Harlem certified by the Passive House Institute and Enterprise Green Communities
Project Overview
In 2016, NYC’s Department of Housing Preservation solicited proposals for the redevelopment of a full city block located in East Harlem that was occupied by a baseball field and GreenThumb community gardens. Proposals were requested to address the design, construction, and management of a mixed-income and mixed-use affordable housing development with an emphasis on sustainability.
The project was awarded to a team of renowned NYC-based developers and architects who proposed that the winning project be dubbed Sendero Verde. The high-performance, sustainable development was constructed in three phases and brought over 700 affordable apartments to the East Harlem community.
The team was driven to make the project a beacon of success for large-scale, multifamily Passive House development in the United States and around the world.
Building Details
- 3 buildings, ranging from 10 to 38 stories
- 709 units total
- 455,000 total SF
Project Team
- Developers & Owners: Jonathan Rose Companies, L+M Development, Acacia Network
- Architect: Handel Architects, LLP
Services Provided
- Certification Support
- Commissioning
- NYCECC Inspections
- NYSERDA NCP Program Participation
- NYSERDA NCP Incentive Support
- Passive House Design
- Passive House Field Verification
Awards
- NYSERDA’s Buildings of Excellence
Certifications
Enterprise Green Communities
Passive House Institute (PHI)
Primary Energy Conservation Measures
- A highly insulated and air-tight facade, including thermally broken shelf angles at all brick veneer locations and an exterior insulated finish system (EIFS) on two of the three buildings
- Superior triple pane window assemblies consisting of thermally broken metal frames for the tower and highly insulative uPVC windows for two of the three buildings
- Highly efficient, centralized energy recovery ventilation system
- Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heating and cooling system
- Optimized hot water recirculation strategy to reduce domestic water heating energy and cooling loads
Tour Sendero Verde
Watch as Dylan Martello, Senior Building Systems Consultant at SWA, gives a tour of Sendero Verde during its construction.
The project is a 100% affordable housing development in East Harlem, New York, pursuing certification under the international Passive House Standard and the 2015 Enterprise Green Community Criteria.