Ground broken on Harlem's new housing project.

Ground has been broken for The Sutton, a 135-unit mixed-income Harlem residential project that will offer the first affordable cooperative apartments resulting from a new lending program in New York City.

The announcement was made by Shaun Donovan, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and Magnus Magnusson, principal of Magnusson Architecture and Planning, the architect.

The first of three projected buildings in the City's Bradhurst Urban Renewal Plan, The Sutton will rise 12 stories on W. 147th Street, between Bradhurst Avenue and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, adjacent to Jackie Robinson Park.

"The Sutton represents an exciting departure from most urban developments, allowing for people of many different incomes the chance to own a great home," said Magnusson. "The distinctive design of the homes will offer families and businesses strong ties to the community and a great future for the neighborhood."

The property is being developed by Duvernay + Brooks LLC, in association with Penrose Properties LLC, from plans by MAP and Barbara Skarbinski, associate design architect, whose firm is called ABS. The team was selected by HPD and the Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement to develop the project on city-owned property as a significant contribution to a neighborhood that is undergoing a renaissance.

"We wanted to make a statement with this property," said Gale Kaufmann, managing director of Duvernay & Brooks LLC. "Magnusson Architecture and Planning helped us accomplish that."

Combining market-rate and affordable units, the family-oriented $40 million building will contain a variety of two- and three-bedroom apartments. They will include maisonettes and duplexes, 20% of which will have terraces or balconies. Other features will include underground parking for 44 cars, 24-hour security, a fitness center, community room and landscaped courtyard. Approximately 3,500 s/f of retail space will be provided on the W. 147th Street-Bradhurst Avenue corner.