Rendering of 700 Gerard Avenue/Image Credit: Partners for Architecture and Historic Preservation Consulting, LLC.
The new building would be the first new development in the historic district. On September 17, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness to construct a new five-story school building on a lot at 700 Gerard Avenue, Bronx which is located within the Grand Concourse Historic District. The lot, located on the east side of Gerard Avenue between East 153rd and East 157th Streets, is currently used as a parking lot and is above an existing underground subway tunnel. The new building would house the American Dream Charter School, a sixth to twelfth grade dual language charter school. Partners for Architecture is the architectural firm for the project.
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- 1150 Grand Concourse. Image: Courtesy of LPC.
New district encompasses 78 properties and includes examples of Art Deco and Moderne architecture. On October 25, 2011, Landmarks voted unanimously to create the Grand Concourse Historic District. The district includes 78 buildings along or near the Grand Concourse between 153rd and 167th Streets.
The four-mile long “Grand Boulevard and Concourse,” designed by French engineer and Bronx resident Louis Risse, was completed in 1909 and connected Manhattan residents to the Bronx’s expansive green space. The Grand Concourse underwent a period of rapid development between the two World Wars as a result of inexpensive land, generous tax exemptions, and the City’s extension of the IND Concourse line into the area.
The first phase of the building boom was characterized by a mix of architectural styles, such as Gothic, Tudor, and Renaissance Revival. In the 1930s, Art Deco and Modernestyle apartments dominated new development. Many of these apartments featured rounded or jagged bays, asymmetrical facade compositions, and corner windows. These buildings also incorporated novel materials including polychrome brick, glass brick, and mosaic tiles. Developers took advantage of the area’s large plots to create blocksized “garden apartments” that maximized tenants’ exposure to light and air by building around large, landscaped courtyards. (read more…)
