Magnusson Architecture and Planning Announces Groundbreaking for Sunset Park Library
As the architects for the redevelopment of the Sunset Park Library in Brooklyn, New York, Magnusson Architecture and Planning (MAP) is pleased to announce the ground breaking for the new mixed-use building. The new development will be completed in December 2020 and will feature 21,000-square-foot library facility topped by 50 affordable residences for qualified low-income occupants. Sunset Park is due to a remarkable partnership between the Brooklyn Public Library and the Fifth Avenue Committee and represents a groundbreaking model for shared-use development that can be replicated in other communities across the City.
Replacing the current Sunset Park Library branch, this new, eight-story mixed-use development will offer two and a half floors of library space (more than double the current square footage) plus 50 units of much needed affordable housing in the neighborhood. The library’s glass front will brighten the streetscape, open the building to the community and welcome visitors. The large windows will also bring natural light into the reading and learning spaces within. Above, a brick exterior echoes the neighborhood’s historic building material, providing a respectful addition to the area. The masonry gives way to paneling at the 7th floor setback and insets on the façade, breaking the mass and lightening the structure’s presence. Topped with solar panels, the development is expected to achieve significant energy cost reductions. Residential amenities include a community room that opens onto a landscaped outdoor deck at the second floor.
“We’re very proud to be part of a project with such positive impact in SunsetPark,” said Christine Hunter, Principal, Magnusson Architect and Planning. “Not only does the development help meet the City’s critical need for more affordable housing, but it also enhances a much-loved and heavily used library branch, which is so vital to a strong community.”
Sunset Park is home to one of Brooklyn’s busiest libraries, but the former library built in 1972 proved too small to meet the needs of one of Brooklyn’s fastest growing communities and required more than $6 million in repairs to function. An interim Sunset Park Library was opened in Spring of 2018 at 4201 4th Avenue and will remain open until the new permanent branch is completed.
ABOUT MAP
For over three decades, Magnusson Architecture and Planning (MAP) has worked with non-profit groups, municipalities, and for-profit developers to improve the lives of those who live and work in their communities. MAP’s award-winning buildings and urban revitalization projects serve as the foundation for vibrant and sustainable neighborhoods. Since our founding in 1986, we have been at the forefront of quality housing, green building and urban design.
MAP offers comprehensive architectural and planning services that blend design excellence with technical and planning expertise. The firm specializes in mixed-use developments including: affordable, supportive, senior, mixed-income, and market-rate housing; schools; community facilities; urban design projects; and, community planning.
In 2015 MAP established a Volunteer Program. Every month a team of staff, friends, and family donate personal time to projects that serve residents of the buildings the firm has designed, improve features in those buildings or support the clients of MAP’s nonprofit partners.
Contact: Abby Addams