Via Verde

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Rose Companies

At Via Verde, a 222-unit, mixed-income housing project in New York City’s South Bronx neighborhood developed by Jonathan Rose Companies and Phipps House and designed by Dattner Architects, Grimshaw Architects, and Lee Weintraub Landscape Architecture, urban agriculture dominates.

Garden amenities and facilities are located throughout the development, including a ground-level courtyard garden, a fruit tree orchard, a fitness garden, and a community garden on the fifth floor. A local nonprofit organization, GrowNYC, is managing and operating the gardens in the first two years of operation, with hopes that the Via Verde community will eventually entirely manage and maintain the gardens.

An assortment of organic heirloom herbs, vegetables, and edible flowers is grown in the garden and distributed to residents and the surrounding community. Residents also participate in monthly workshops where they prepare food and participate in tasting demonstrations and recipe giveaways.

Learn more about Via Verde in ULI’s Building for Wellness: The Business Case report.