Just last week, Grace’s Place celebrated its Topping Off Ceremony, marking the completion of all 9 stories of its cement structure. Now, our team is eager to shift focus to refining the interiors and creating a warm and welcoming home for future residents.
The Grace’s Place Team celebrating a major milestone on the rooftop! Missing Andy Vann, Principal at PCA.
It feels like just yesterday we broke ground, and now Grace’s Place stands 9 stories tall. Named after Gracie May—our developer Ericka Keller’s grandmother and a lifelong caregiver—this project honors her legacy by offering 56 affordable independent units for seniors and 25 supportive housing units to the Downtown Far Rockaway community.
I sat down with Principal Andy Vann and Architectural Designer Shakibul Islam from the project team to discuss what this milestone means to them.
Cinn Frost: What has been the most rewarding part of working on Grace's Place?
Shakibul Islam: For me personally, it’s been the professional relationships built with everyone working hard to bring this project to life. From collaborating with Mega’s project managers and construction superintendents to understanding the needs of skilled tradesmen and subcontractors working at a swift pace, it meant a lot to me to play a key role and be relied upon alongside these talented professionals. It’s also been a great educational experience, and a reminder that the project doesn’t end when the drawings are completed–it begins again on-site and everyone plays an important role. Buildings get built and develop a life of their own, but the relationships built along the way will be the most memorable and rewarding part of the process for me.
Andy Vann: I’ll second that and add, for me, this project has been incredibly rewarding because it’s been a huge learning and growth experience. I’ve grown significantly as an architect, and like many of our projects, it’s fulfilling to work on high-quality residential buildings that residents will enjoy, hopefully for many, many years to come. Attending the groundbreaking ceremony last year was especially meaningful—seeing the faces of future residents and knowing our hard work will translate into healthy, energy-efficient, modern homes for them.
Cinn Frost: What challenges did you face during the design and construction process and how did you overcome them?
Shakibul Islam: This was a uniquely fast-paced project with many questions that needed answers. It’s been a challenge to stay on top of the contractors' questions and give them not only an answer on time with respect to the rest of the trades at work, but also within our budget. Luckily, we’re nimble in that, where we’ve seen challenges, we’ve approached them with opportunities in mind for more efficient design and construction detailing, while maintaining our original design intentions for Grace’s Place.
Andy Vann: Right, so, for example, in the original design, we had this big diagonal gesture that the building's facade was making, and we did end up having to compromise and adjust that to be more of a stepping kind of look for the main facade. I still don't feel great about that decision, but at the end of the day, it had to be made, and I learned that next time, if we are going to try that same diagonal gesture, I’d be more proactive in making sure that all the details were baked into the project more thoroughly than it was for this one.
Also, part of the challenge is the nature of affordable housing: things stop and start a lot in these projects because they're dependent on a lot of state and city financing and have to undergo a few comprehensive review processes–which takes a lot of time. The way to get through those challenges, though, is to be patient and to also be willing to rope in other people on your team if you encounter issues within those processes, so we can work together to find a solution and get back on track.
Cinn Frost: For sure, I did think that diagonal slant was super unique so I was sad to see it go. What inspired the design of Grace’s Place?
Andy Vann: The design draws from the classic New York City setback look that emerged in the early 20th century, popularized by Hugh Ferriss with those iconic wedding cake towers in Lower Manhattan. These setbacks—where the building steps back from the street—have been part of NYC zoning for a long time.
With projects like this, whether market-rate, luxury, or affordable housing, there’s not a lot of room for formal gymnastics. We’re not spending on big cantilevers or flashy effects, so we have to find ways to create that “wow” factor within zoning and budget constraints.
The zoning rules require that for every floor above the base height, you set back a portion of the facade. Typically, this creates a stepping effect—like 60% width at the sixth floor, 40% at the seventh, and so on. Instead of following that traditional approach, we went for a more dynamic, slanted design. This emphasized the building’s presence on a critical corner site, with the facade sloping down to the corner and rising away from the main street.
Cinn Frost: And it's to maximize sunlight too?
Andy Vann: Not necessarily. Most of the units in the setback terraces don’t have windows facing the terraces. But one design feature I’m really proud of is the community laundry room on the eighth floor.
Typically, laundry rooms are in the basement, but we placed this one next to an outdoor terrace. That way, in the summer, residents can step outside to enjoy the sunshine while waiting for their laundry–read a book or play on their phone or whatever. And on a cold winter day, they can stay inside but still benefit from the natural light pouring in. It’s a small touch, but it makes this common experience a bit more delightful.
Cinn Frost: Yeah, it’s cool you were able to use those setbacks to spark delight. While we’re at it, Shakibul, what design elements are you most proud of, and why?
Shakibul Islam: For me watching the masonry contractor work at the pace they have has been extraordinary. It’s eye-opening to see how interconnected everything is.
Like, one team ensures the cement temperature is maintained in this cold weather, while another meticulously stacks CMU blocks by hand, all while keeping up with the labor-intensive pace of about a floor per week. It’s a trade that requires precision, coordination, and adaptability.
This work also ties into other trades, like installing the next floor of planks above them, preparing CMU wall openings for future windows, and aligning interior CMU blocks for apartment unit doors. It’s a reminder that coordination in construction is far more complex than it appears.
Cinn Frost: How does it feel to see the project reach this milestone? And what are you most looking forward to in these final stages?
Andy Vann: I’m really looking forward to everything starting to click—seeing gypsum board go up, plumbing fixtures installed, and the human scale of the building take shape. Because right now, with the structure topped out, it feels more like a machine than a residence. There’s concrete, pipes, ductwork—it’s all infrastructure.
But as we add human-scaled elements—tile, bathroom sinks, faucets, things you can touch and interact with—it’s going to transform into a real residential project. That’s when it’ll start to feel like a home.
Cinn Frost: I like what you said there—a human scale.
Andy Vann: Yeah, every person’s interaction with the building will be defined by what they touch with their hands, what they see. The glare on the surface when the sun hits the wall—is it overly bright? Is the space comfortable to be in? Over the next six months as these details come together, the building will take shape quickly and start feel very real very fast.
Cinn Frost: Love that. Finally, Shakibul, what lessons from Grace’s Place will you carry forward to future projects?
Shakibul Islam: So many, the biggest being the importance of clear drawings that are drawn with real-life building material science. So often we get caught up with “drawing” that we don’t realize what we’re drawing has to translate to the field for a contractor to bring it to life. If things are not drawn precisely, then it becomes a stall and ripple effect for all the trades from MEP to Structural implications. How to translate the design intent of the Architect into a well-coordinated built piece of architecture through a clear set of drawings for a contractor to interpret and put into action, is a valuable learning experience I will be taking to all my projects.
Thanks to Shakibul and Andy for taking the time. Our hope is that, once complete, Grace’s Place will provide a peaceful and stable foundation for its residents while serving as a lasting community center for the neighborhood. Readers can stay tuned for construction updates on our Linkedin and Instagram pages.