Dozens celebrated the official March 11 opening of Baez Place, an affordable and supportive housing development in the Claremont neighborhood that is offering stability to those who need it most.
The $86 million project at 334 East 176th Street has 154 units, including 64 homes for households earning up to 80% AMI, 32 for seniors and 54 for formerly homeless people with mental health challenges.
The project was developed by Blue Sky Bronx LLC in partnership with the nonprofit Community Access, which is providing onsite services, including counseling, activities and referrals for employment and educational opportunities.
Baez Place is all-electric and features a community room, teaching kitchen, gym, laundry rooms, lounges, bike room, library/computer room, outdoor green spaces and an indoor greenhouse.
At the ribbon cutting, Community Access CEO Cal Hedigan began with a moment of silence for Lindon Samuel, an employee with Joy Construction who died on the job site in 2022. Another worker suffered an amputation in the same incident, and the company was ultimately issued a $10,550 fine, as reported by THE CITY.
Hedigan said Baez Place marks the nonprofit’s tenth project in the Bronx and twenty-first citywide.
“Supportive housing in particular continues to prove that when people have a place to call home, along with the services and support they need, they can truly thrive,” Hedigan said.
One of those thriving tenants is Joseph Encarnacion, 53, who said having a home of his own seemed felt impossible after six and a half years in prison and sixteen months in shelters.
At the ribbon cutting, Encarnacion said he cried when he got the keys to his studio unit on December 22. “Santa came early for me.”
Moving in to Baez Place, staff helped him set up utilities and find a local doctor and answered his questions with respect, he said. “Now I can enjoy the simple things in life,” such as cooking, tending to plants and having his children and granddaughter over to visit, Encarnacion said.
He said he works in maintenance and now dreams of starting his own business.
“To me, having a stable home means feeling accomplished. It means the responsibility is on me. Paying my bills, paying my rent and building my future,” Encarnacion said. “This place changed my life, and I know it changed others.”
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said she was present for the 2022 groundbreaking and pleased to come back for the opening.
Combining housing with onsite social services is one of the most effective ways to prevent people from cycling in and out shelters, Gibson said. She said buildings like Baez Place are “transformative” to residents and neighborhoods, fostering self-sufficiency and stability.
To the nonprofit, government and private sector partners who made it possible, “Thank you for allowing the dreams of our families to come true,” Gibson said.
Osiris Guzman, chair of Community Board 5, also warmly welcomed the new residents. While some supportive housing projects have been vehemently opposed by people living nearby — most notably, the proposed Just Home development on the Jacobi Medical Center campus.
Guzman said that Baez Place “represents progress.”
“You are part of this community now, and the neighborhood is stronger because you are here,” he said. “We want you to feel connected, supported and proud to call his neighborhood home.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
