As Fox Hall is a landmarked building it could not be torn down and instead serves as the central, focal point for the design. The new nine-story residential portion of the building is a backdrop, which wraps and offsets the renovated landmarked structure. The Greek revival-style building, renamed Fox Hall, was originally built in the 1850s and was the Samuel B. White Mansion that stood in the middle of a 70-acre estate called Longwood Park. By 1903, the mansion had been turned into a social club, complete with billiards and bowling. Most recently it was a Police Athletic League Center before it was left abandoned and fell into disrepair. Through state, city and tax credit funding, the building façade was restored to its 1850s façade to meet all requirements of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The windows are mahogany, original window openings discovered and restored, the cornice repaired or replicated, the entry portico reconstructed, and the façade is true stucco. A central stair wrapping a free-standing brick wall built of the reclaimed brick reinforces the centrality of this building.

Cedars was awarded a NYSERDA grant to be a pilot project for the agency’s Multi-Family High-Rise Energy Star Program. With this grant, the design team implemented a ground-source well system for heating and cooling which, along with other energy-saving measures will reduce the energy consumption of the building by more than 40 percent. The design also includes a modular green roof, low-VOC paints and adhesives, fiberglass windows and materials with high recycled content. Cedars was completed in Fall 2009 and has been awarded a LEED Gold rating.