Jacob's Place is the first low-income and green apartment building in the nation. The project was constructed according to the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria and features a combination green/solar roof. The $90,000 roof installation was funded in cooperation by NYSERDA and BP’s Solar Neighbors Program, whereby BP donates a solar system to a low-income/affordable housing project every time a celebrity purchases a similar system. The sixty-four panel, 11 kW system at Jacob’s Place came from Owen Wilson, and will power elevators, ventilation, and common areas; it’s Solar Neighbors’ first such installation outside of California (where the program is based) and its first in a multi-unit residential building. Other green features at Jacob’s Place include bamboo apartment flooring, low-VOC paints and materials, energy-efficient elevators, and a graywater system.
The project cost $14.5 million, $5.6 million of which came from the federal low-income housing tax credit program. These credits were syndicated by Enterprise, which in turn obtained funding from various financial institutions. $4.2 million came from the city’s Housing Development Corporation, $2.7 million from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and $1 million from the Borough of the Bronx. The city donated the land and Fordham Bedford put up $330,000. The project team included Oaklander, Coogan and Vitto Architects and Bronx-based Galaxy Construction.
