THE NEW SCHOOL WINS JPMORGAN CHASE
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMPETITION

Students from Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy and
Parsons The New School for Design Propose Multi-Use Development in Manhattanville
for the Fortune Society

New York, July 5, 2006—The New School received first place in JPMorgan Chase’s 13th annual Community Development Competition for its project “Strengthening the Community Fabric: Achieving a Triple Bottom Line in West Harlem.” Partnering with the Fortune Society, an organization that advocates for incarcerated individuals, the team developed a multi-use building for the organization to be built on a Fortune Society-owned vacant site in Manhattanville, one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York City. The first-place award of $25,000 will be given to the Fortune Society to help defray predevelopment costs associated with the proposal.

"I am excited by this result," said Fred Hochberg, Dean of Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy. "This is the fourth time that The New School has won this competition, and I am proud that our students have consistently produced innovative solutions to community development issues."

The competition invites students from schools with an interest in community development to partner with a community-based nonprofit in creating a project that helps that organization with a real-estate need. The New School team, composed of students and faculty from Milano and Parsons The New School for Design, created a proposal that provides long-term income and financial stability for the Fortune Society and strengthens the organization’s relationship with the surrounding community. Students adopted a social-entrepreneurial approach to their work and did extensive research and fieldwork, touring the site and other properties with the Fortune Society and working with community-based organizations and elected officials.

In addition to addressing the Fortune Society’s request for office space, the team identified three community needs that would become central to the project: early child development, housing, and parking. The final result not only pleased the judges but also the client, and the Fortune Society has presented the team’s proposal to its board for review. “I went into this project with high hopes,” said JoAnne Page, president and CEO of the Fortune Society. “What the students presented exceeded my expectations. Thanks to their contributions, we should see something built in the next three years, and, whatever happens, their ideas will definitely play a role.”

The final design proposed a 14-story, 100,000-square-foot building that includes 79 units of housing for moderate-income, low-income and formerly homeless people and families; office space for the Fortune Society; a 60-child Head Start center; a 50-car garage; an indoor greenhouse; and a gym for tenants. The multi-use building posed many challenges for the students, but the interdisciplinary nature of the team helped facilitate the process.
While graduate architecture students at Parsons focused on the design of the building, urban policy students from Milano developed a strong financial plan. One of the team’s main goals was to make the project, estimated at $25 million, profitable. By using the revenue from the sale of parking spaces, the land itself, and development fees, the team proposed an endowment of around $5 million for the Fortune Society, something few nonprofits have at their disposal. The student’s plan also placed the endowment under the control of the Fortune Society’s board, allowing the organization to use it for any purpose—including as annual income. “The New School tackled a difficult case with extraordinary professionalism and depth, and they responded to probing questions with perceptive analysis,” said Jon Salony, vice president of JPMorgan Chase and one of the judges of the competition.

The development not only responds to community concerns but also employs cutting-edge environmental technology, including geothermal wells, a green roof, a gray-water system, and a louver system that shades half the building’s façade and provides substantial energy savings. Joel Towers, associate provost for Environmental Studies at The New School and director of the university’s new Tishman Environment and Design Center, served as the main environmental consultant, and the students also worked with other experts in green design, including engineers at Arup.

“The team from Milano and Parsons did an excellent job collaborating on the competition,” said Dennis Derryck, professor of professional practice at Milano. “By using what they’ve learned at The New School about how nonprofit organizations and real-estate developments are managed and designed, the team showed we can both satisfy the bank’s needs and make an environmentally and economically sustainable project.” Derryck initiated the project and supervised the team in collaboration with Parsons’ architecture faculty members Miodrag Mitrasinovic and James Koster.

The collaborative nature of the Chase competition benefits all the players. Students meet professionals in the field and gain unparalleled practical experience in design, critical thinking, and addressing real constituent and community concerns, while the monetary award aids the winning nonprofit in realizing its plans. Many participants even change career paths and go into community development as a result of the competition.

The Fortune Society has been serving and advocating for formerly incarcerated men, women, and teens since 1967. Recognized by researchers and policy makers as a pioneer in assisting former prisoners to reintegrate into society, the Fortune Society has more than a dozen programs, including substance abuse treatment, counseling, family services, HIV/AIDS health services, employment services, and housing. These innovative and successful initiatives have become models for similar programs across the country. Among the many honors the Fortune Society has received is the 2005 American Society of Criminology’s President’s Award for “Distinguished Contributions to the Cause of Justice.” For more information visit www.fortunesociety.org.

Located in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village, The New School is a center of academic excellence where intellectual and artistic freedoms thrive. The 9,000 matriculated students and more than 6,000 continuing education students who attend the university’s eight schools enjoy a disciplined education supported by small class sizes, superior resources, and renowned working faculty who practice what they teach. Artists, scholars, and students from all walks of life attend its diverse programs and can earn everything from certificates to bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. When The New School was founded in 1919, its mission was to create a place where global peace and justice were more than theoretical ideals. New School students participate in programs that to this day strive for academic excellence, technical mastery, and engaged world citizenship. For more information, visit www.newschool.edu.