White Plains city officials and New York City developer Jonathan F.P. Rose were joined by state and federal officials on Thursday at a ribbon-cutting to mark the opening of the first new apartment tower and an education and training center built on the city”™s redeveloped downtown public housing campus.
Formerly called Winbrook Housing, the White Plains Housing Authority”™s 450-unit, 67-year-old apartment complex at South Lexington Avenue and Quarropas Street was renamed Brookfield Commons at the start of its transformation two years ago to a mixed-use, mixed-income community by the housing authority ”™s private development partner, Jonathan Rose Cos. LLC. Officials celebrated the opening of the long-term project”™s first phase, The Prelude, a $42.2 million, 10-story, 103-unit apartment building that houses the new White Plains Education and Training Center.
City officials said the center, known as WPETC, will provide workforce training, in concert with industry employers in the area, for Brookfield Commons residents and others in the community seeking new or better jobs or starting a new career. They said WPETC will offer real-time job opportunities in the market while supporting the employment needs of the region”™s high-growth industries, including culinary and hospitality, medical and health care, technology, and entrepreneurship.
The center also will offer training and education in budgeting, home buying, English language skills for the workplace, and resume and interviewing skills.
White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach in a statement at the opening called the first phase Brookfield Commons “a unique project in Westchester County and the region” because it includes public housing residents in the greater community and its success, brings job training and skills development directly to public housing residents, and strengthens “the city”™s economic position and attractiveness by being able to say to employers and potential employers, we can provide you with the skilled workforce that you need.”
Mack Carter, executive director of the White Plains Housing Authority, noted that no Winbrook residents were displaced during construction.
“The dream of Winbrook residents to finally move into new, high-quality homes is now a reality,” he said. “The Winbrook community can now say with pride, “We are not being left behind; we are moving forward.”™”
