MAP receives 3rd award for Rheingold Gardens work.

Magnusson Architecture and Planning (MAP) has received a third award for its creative and innovative work at Rheingold Gardens, at the former Rheingold brewery site in Bushwick.

This time the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce awarded MAP a 2006 Building Brooklyn Award for brownfield redevelopment.

The Brooklyn Building Awards recognize recently completed projects that have had a positive impact on the borough's economy and quality of life, according to the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. The nine-member, independent panel of Brooklyn-based architects, planners, economic development experts and city officials selected these projects out of 60 nominations to be awarded in 14 different categories.

"This award, along with the other two, validate our hope and belief that this was a worthwhile project, and we are honored to have received them," says Magnus Magnusson, principal in charge at MAP.

In addition to the 2006 Building Brooklyn Award. Rheingold Gardens also has received recognition from both the Phoenix Award Executive Committee and the National Home Builders Association for transforming this devastated brownfield into a prospering affordable housing complex in Bushwick.

The $22 million project, developed and built by The Bluestone Organization from MAP's design plans, maximized the use of abandoned lots and is now home to a newly constructed community that consists of 57 two-family units, four three-family units and 30 condominiums.

"The planners wanted a high-quality town house development that had a lot of exposure to greenery," says Mr. Magnusson. "The facades have large bay windows and corner windows and create an up-down rhythm by alternating distinctive peaks with gables. The resulting roofline is reminiscent of the community's historical roots with its old Dutch homes."

MAP worked with its community sponsor, Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, to complete the development, which was financed in part by New York City Housing Partnership and by the New York City Housing Preservation and Development.

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce will honor this project, and 14 others, at an awards ceremony on July 18 at the Brooklyn Museum.

This past winter, the National Association of Home Builders honored Rheingold Gardens with the Innovation in Workforce Housing Award, which recognizes ingenuity in the development, construction and marketing of affordable workforce housing. Rheingold Gardens was among five other communities nationwide to receive the award.

Last fall, the Phoenix Award Executive Committee selected Rheingold Gardens as a recipient of the Phoenix Award, based on the magnitude of the environmental problems posed by the property; innovative use of techniques by the designer; cooperative efforts of multiple parties; positive impact on the environment and general and long-term impacts on the community.