The site of an old garage in Staten Island once used by the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) will soon be transformed into an affordable housing community. The 232-unit complex, Hillside Grove, is being designed by Purpose by Design Architects at 539 Jersey Street on the North Shore. Today, 539 Jersey Shore is a squat brick building, where trucks often come and go. Its long been considered an eyesore and a nuisance by the community, designers said. The structure will be razed and replaced in the months ahead. (And the santitation services will be relocated to a garage in Fresh Kills.)Hillside Grove will be made up of 4- and 5-story buildings. It will be predicated on a few fundamental concepts: health and wellness, aging in place, universal and inclusive design, active design, zero waste, and trauma-informed design.The existing garage on the North Shore has long been considered an eyesore by the community. (Courtesy NYC Housing Preservation & Development)Of the 232 units, 90 will be dedicated to seniors who make up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), and 105 will be for earners of all ages making 80 percent AMI. The rest of the flats will be inside a homeownership co-op building.At Hillside Grove, tucked beneath the residences, there will be a grocery store on site, community facility space, below grade parking, and over 46,000 square feet of outdoor open space. Volunteers of America Greater New York, Spatial Equity, and Nehemiah HDFC are all development partners on the project, together with New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD). This project will set the bar for the type of innovative and sustainable projects that could be realized on former city agency owned land, Leila Bozorg, New York City Executive Director for Housing, said in a statement.The proposals undulating shapes and crannies take cues from the natural terrain of Staten Island, Purpose by Design Architects said, but also the areas historic homes and tree canopies. The nod to the context is invoked by the faux pitched roofs that break up the massing. Punched windows further break up the planes that line the streetscape, overlooking tree-lined streets.The facades take cues from local, vernacular residential architecture. (Purpose by Design Architects)On the ground level, public spaces will run along the perimeter. There will be a new public plaza on the corner of Jersey Street and Victory Boulevard designed with bus riders in mind seeking the grocery store. There will also be a public plaza on Brook Street and widened sidewalks up-and-down Jersey Street, replete with shaded seating. To achieve Passive House certification, Hillside Grove will be fitted with a geothermal energy system, mid-door gardens, and solar panels on the roof. The site plan leverages storm water management and heat mitigation strategies. There will also be green roofs, retention ponds, dry wells, porous pavement, and rainwater capture and storage. All in all, more than 100 trees will be planted.The site was approved for rezoning in 2019, as part of the 2019 Bay Street Rezoning plan. An RFP issued by HPD went out that year.The project is part of Mayor Eric Adamss 24 in 24 plan, which sought to deliver 24 affordable housing projects on publicly owned land by the end of 2024.