Clinton Hill Coops is a 12-building cooperative housing community on two campuses in Brooklyn’s historic Clinton Hill neighborhood. Originally built in the 1940s as housing for Navy Yard workers, the complex was designed as a series of towers set back from the sidewalk within a park-like landscape. In the intervening years, shrubs, perennials, and ground covers have been removed. The landscape is characterized by large areas of underperforming turf and a high canopy of shade trees. Security fences added during a long period of neighborhood disinvestment now dominate the campuses.

RAFT is leading a team of consultants through the design and approvals process for the renovation, which will transform the campuses into lush, playful, and accessible gardens with upgrades to circulation, lighting, and stormwater management. We will plant the next generation of canopy trees and reestablish layered plantings that will provide visual and auditory screening, mark seasonal change, stimulate habitat value, and soften the impact of the large towers. RAFT created a blog to engage residents in the process--from design through construction. 

Collaborators in this project include: AKRF, Gannett Fleming, F2 Environmental Design, Patrick Cullina, DWAAL Lighting, and Stuart Lynn.