Blumenfeld Development Group Earns National Honor For The Smile

The Blumenfeld Development Group (BDG) and Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) were named one of seven national award winners for the prestigious Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing for their The Smile property in Harlem, NY.

The award was announced by the UrbanLand Institute (ULI), which is the oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts in the world. It honors exemplary developments that ensure housing affordability for people with a range of incomes, and specifically recognizes efforts by the development community to increase the supply of homes affordable to households earning less than 120 percent of the area median income.

The awards were established in 2008 and named in memory of Jack Kemp, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development who had served as a Terwilliger Center national advisory board member. They are given annually to affordable and workforce housing developments that represent outstanding achievements in several areas, including affordability, innovative financing and building technologies, quality of design, proximity to employment centers and transportation hubs, as well as involvement (utilization) of public/private partnerships.

“Our mission of making our properties available to all sectors of the population has always been a priority in all of our projects,” said Susan Blumenfeld, Partner, Blumenfeld Development Group.

Blumenfeld, who was deeply involved in the interior design which included the housing units, common areas and amenities of The Smile, added, “It is indeed an honor to receive this distinguished recognition from the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing.”

The Smile, located in the heart of East Harlem at 158 E. 126th St., is adjacent to the MTA’s Lexington Avenue 4/5/6 subway line and is less than a 15 minute ride to Grand Central Station on the express train. The building, which features a unique slightly inward sloped façade, offers more than 200 units of mixed income housing and includes a rooftop pool, hot tubs, grills, large screening area and views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline.

The Blumenfeld Development Group joined developers from six other states including; California, Idaho, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Texas and Washington in receiving this honor.

Developments competing for the Kemp Awards may be fully affordable, with all units designated for low- to moderate-income residents; or they may contain a mix of affordable and market-rate units.