Housing complex for ex-cons, low-income families opens in West Harlem

Castle Gardens and Jonathan Rose

West Harlem’s Castle Gardens, the 110,000-square-foot, affordable and LEED-certified apartment complex at 625 West 140th Street, opened its doors last week with 114 new residences for formerly incarcerated and homeless individuals and low-income families from the local community. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Borough President Scott Stringer were on hand to celebrate the debut. Also in attendance were several other city, state and federal officials and developers Jonathan Rose Companies and the Fortune Society, an agency that works to find incarceration alternatives and reentry options. Clients of the Fortune Society will occupy 50 of Castle Gardens’ studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, whose rents range from $624 to $1,127 per month. Amenities at the complex, which received $8.3 million in financing from the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, include a computer lab, library, community room, landscaped roof terraces, wireless internet and a service center that will provide counseling and financial planning services for residents. TRD