The former PS64 at 605 East 9th Street, was purchased by Aaron Sosnick and donated to benefit the East Village community. It will be transformed into CHARAS | El Bohío Community Center, addressing the neighborhood’s housing crisis by hosting 88 AREA (Affordable Real Estate for Artists) units at 80% AMI rent, which will sustain the expenses of the center itself. This project aims to maintain and enhance the vibrant, artistic identity of East Village while addressing pressing housing needs. A zoning-required 40-foot easement turns into the main gesture: connecting the South and North Plaza (9th and 10th Street) and connecting them to every level and the public terraces at the top with an emphatic new core. Cantilevered canopies shelter this ground floor vibrant corridor, and this gesture is mirrored on the upper level creating cohesiveness. The walls that kept the people out turn into the materiality of the third core and part of the canopies. Careful intervention preserves the historic building’s character, with a subtle addition of 2 levels respecting its rhythm and modulation. The rooftop features a community garden in the middle of a compluvium. The public realm melts into the building and is further activated with a complementary retail program, blurring the lines between private and public.
