Oldcastle Precast helps construct green affordable housing for families in need

BRONX, N.Y. – As part of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s $7.5 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan to provide affordable housing for 500,000 New Yorkers, Oldcastle Precast provided structural precast concrete building components for the new development at Forest Houses in New York. It is part of the largest municipal housing plan in the nation.

The development at Forest House is a “green” and energy saving designed, precast concrete building, manufactured by Oldcastle Precast, containing 124 affordable units available to households making 60% of the AMI or less. The 109,000 square foot building also contains a superintendent’s unit, landscaped open space, and 43 underground parking spaces under the first level and features a unique rooftop, commercial greenhouse that will yield 80,000 to 100,000 pounds of fresh produce a year and be distributed to residents and local markets in the Bronx.

Oldcastle Precast, using their expertise in precast concrete structures, manufactured 136,162 square feet of precast concrete hollow core plank for the floors and roof, which was specifically design to handle the unique load of a roof top greenhouse and 70,000 square feet of precast concrete wall panels to construct an energy efficient building envelope for the eight-story Forest House Development building. The exterior precast walls were cast with Glen-Gery thin-brick and sandblast type finish (via form liner) with colored concrete to provide a comprehensive exterior finish.

In addition to the housing structure, Oldcastle Precast manufactured and installed their Storm Capture® Water Reuse System. The Storm Capture Reuse System included special Storm Capture retention tanks that handle approximately 16,000 gallons of captured water and an equipment package that treats the captured water making it available for irrigation to the roof-mounted hydroponic greenhouse, providing another unique feature to this environmentally friendly project.

This is the 5th total precast concrete building solution that Blue Sea Development, the developer, and Oldcastle Precast have worked together on in the past 10 years. Oldcastle Precast worked closely with Blue Sea and ABS Architects, the project architect, during the design phase to develop a cost effective solution that met all of the project requirements.

The development team consists of Blue Sea Development Co., Blue Sea Construction Co., LLC, ABS Architects and TY Lyn International- engineering firm. The team was selected due to its history of developing quality affordable housing that is both attractive & sustainable. The Project is scheduled for completion December 2012 and is seeking LEED certification.