RKT&B Architects completes The Maynard - Latest infill project totaling 48 units in Brooklyn

The Maynard, located in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn at the intersection of Bergen St. and Schenectady Ave., is the latest infill project completed using the "smart housing" concept designed by RKT&B Architects and developed by Community Preservation Corporation Resources Inc. The "smart housing" strategy aims to fill vacant lots in R6 zoning districts scattered throughout the city's residential neighborhoods with affordable housing. The Maynard, one of five "smart housing" projects completed to date, and the three which will be built in the near future prove that affordable housing can be architecturally elegant and contextual and also provide a pleasant and socially acceptable place to live while serving as a viable strategy for renewing urban neighborhoods. The prototype, which is designed to fit into vacant lots of varying widths, is a four-story walk-up with a glass-enclosed stairwell that enhances security from the street. "The prototype makes sense for affordable housing because, as a single stair walk-up, it allows developers to avoid the high costs of elevator installation and maintenance," said Carmi Bee FAIA, principal of RKT&B Architects and Urban Designers. "Furthermore, it accomplishes two key objectives: It addresses the urgent need for affordable housing in New York City and it offers a strategy for revitalizing neighborhoods." Bee also points out that the prototype meets the strict zoning requirements of many outer borough neighborhoods where most of the available infill sites are located. The Maynard consists of six separate residential buildings made up of three prototypical units, each containing eight apartments for a total of forty-eight units of housing. Each of the separate buildings has four floors and a mezzanine, and contains two apartments per floor for a total of eight apartments per building with, in some cases, a partial cellar floor. A secure parking lot with seventeen parking spaces is located in the rear of the building. Other project team members included GACE Consulting Engineers (structural engineers), Reynaldo C. Prego, PE Consulting Engineers (mechanical), and Landgarden Landscape Architects. The general contractor was Westmanor Construction. RKT&B is an architectural and planning firm in New York City with a long history of designing affordable housing. The firm has been designing multifamily housing, schools, theaters, libraries, office buildings and healthcare, recreation and transportation facilities since 1963. For more information, please visit www.rktb.com.