# Dunbar Apartments

New York City, NY · garden-apartments · tier: draft · Retrofit Atlas record `n-2bb6812f79` · release 2026-10-21

Canonical: https://retrofitatlas.org/garden-apartments/ny/new-york-city-dunbar-apartments/  
JSON: https://retrofitatlas.org/data/records/n-2bb6812f79.json · Provenance: https://retrofitatlas.org/data/records/n-2bb6812f79.provenance.json · API: https://retrofitatlas.org/api/v1/sites/n-2bb6812f79

## Facts

| Field | Value | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| Status | proposed | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Strategy | reinhabit | none |
| New use | housing | none |
| What is there now | renovating the vacant apartments, updating and refurbishing the interior courtyard and garden, and the addition of a variety of amenities including a fitness center, playground, additional security and a doorman. | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Opened | 1928 | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Retrofit year | 2013 | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Original developer | John D. Rockefeller Jr. | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Redeveloper | E&M Associates | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |

## Parties

- E&M Associates — developer (2013–)

## Timeline

- 1926: Construction began
- 1928: Building opened
- 1928: Opened
- 1936: Foreclosure by John D. Rockefeller Jr.
- 1937: Converted to rental units
- 2013: Sold to E&M Associates and retrofit plans initiated
- 2013: Retrofit: reinhabit

## Deals and debt

- 2013 sale:  E&M Associates   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar_Apartments
- 1936 foreclosure:  Rockefeller   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar_Apartments

## Background (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened)

The Dunbar Apartments, also known as the Paul Laurence Dunbar Garden Apartments or Dunbar Garden Apartments, is a complex of buildings located on West 149th and West 150th Streets between Frederick Douglass Boulevard/Macombs Place and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. They were built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. from 1926 to 1928 to provide housing for African Americans, and was the first large cooperative aimed at that demographic. The buildings were designed by architect Andrew J.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar_Apartments

## Sources

- Dunbar Apartments — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar_Apartments

## Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Dunbar Apartments, New York City, NY." Record n-2bb6812f79, release 2026-10-21, tier draft. https://retrofitatlas.org/garden-apartments/ny/new-york-city-dunbar-apartments/ (accessed 2026-10-21).

```bibtex
@misc{retrofitatlas_newyorkcitydunbarapartments,
  title = {Dunbar Apartments, New York City, NY},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/garden-apartments/ny/new-york-city-dunbar-apartments/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record n-2bb6812f79, release 2026-10-21, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-21}
}
```

Licence: research use only; terms undecided with the authors (https://retrofitatlas.org/licence/). Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0. Tiers: curated = from the authors' public map, not reviewed by them; draft = imported or model-extracted, unreviewed.