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Although the Denison-White mansion lay in ruins, its roof caved in, the Landmarks Preservation Commission insisted on preserving one of the few remaining historic structures in the Bronx.

"The historic building was in raw shape," said Samir Shah, an architect with the Urban Architectural Initiatives firm who designed the project. "We gutted it and inserted a new structure."

On a recent walk-through tour for his architecture students, Shah walked around the shell of the old mansion wearing a hard hat, pointing at the walls that have been propped up with huge steel beams.

The property is unusual. The stately mansion sits in the middle of the plot surrounded by modern high-rise apartment buildings in an L-shape. In the old days the mansion was a home for a wealthy family; now it will be a home for the less fortunate.

Many of the families have been referred from shelters or come from the projects. In some cases, the kids were abused by their parents before being adopted by the grandparents.

The old building will connect all the apartments and serve as a sanctuary for these grandfamilies. In addition to offices for social workers, there will be game rooms for the children and lounges for the grandparents. There will even be a sauna in the basement.

Shah designed the space inside the mansion to give the maximum feeling of openness and light. There will be large windows and tall ceilings and a staircase running up the middle of the structure that Shah hopes will anchor the whole development around a single point.

"This is where all the support services will be -- kids' room, library, a kitchen -- all the community program functions will be inside the old building," Shah said.

Looking at the crumbling red bricks, it is difficult to picture Shah's vision of the future. But in a few months, these graffiti-covered walls will echo with the sound of children running and laughing, and the old mansion will be someone's home once again.

Story by Elsa Butler and Anthony Vanger for NYC24.com

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