Dattner Architects wraps affordable housing around Bronx church with gothic arches

Dattner Architects has completed St James Terrace, a nine-storey affordable housing development in the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx, New York, that wraps around the landmarked St James Episcopal Church. The 102-unit building, developed by Long Island-based nonprofit Concern Housing, integrates gothic arch motifs to connect the new construction with the 1863 church. The project required balancing density for financial viability with restraint to satisfy the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission. The building forms a cloistered courtyard with an arcade of repeating arches, replacing an underutilized car park. Brickwork with varied bond patterns and projected bricks animates the facade, while a palette of brick and precast concrete is calibrated to the church's rough-coursed gneiss. The massing steps down to a single-storey community facility connecting the church, Parish house, and courtyard. An exterior stair creates a visual break so the two buildings read as distinct objects. Interior apartments are air-sealed with high-performance windows to block noise from a nearby elevated subway line. Dattner associate principal Rachel Ehrlich noted the design creates sensory boundaries and gives the church back its presence. The project is part of New York City's push to create 200,000 new housing units by 2035.