Affordable Housing

February 2, 2016

Construction Update: BKSK Architects’ ‘Hi-Side’ Tower Goes Vertical on the Far West Side

BKSK Architects have designed a robust steel- and brick-faced building at 509 West 38th Street, slated to open in 2017. After a failed condo proposal, a foreclosure, and a developer switch, the project is finally ascending and is already seven stories out of the ground since we last checked a week ago. Dubbed "The Hi-Side," the 158,000-square-foot, mixed-use tower is being developed by investment firm Imperial Companies, who picked up the site from Iliad Development in an undisclosed deal. Fast forward nearly eight years, and a 30-floor, 345-foot building is rising at the site. Situated at the eastern block front of the future Hudson Park Boulevard, bands of ribbon windows along its western face will provide residents with sweeping views of the Hudson River. The base of the tower, which will feature a restaurant, is clad in a muscular rhythm of exposed steel, brick spandrels, and large multi-pane windows.
Find out more

January 29, 2016

New Renderings of FXFOWLE’s Curving Harlem Condo, Circa Central Park

By Ondel Hylton

Since 6sqft checked in last November, Harlem's most anticipated condominium building, Circa Central Park, has wrapped up its structural frame and is preparing to be covered in its glass, metal, and brick skin. Now, as we await sales to officially launch, the building's designers, FXFOWLE Architects, give us our first full look at the building inside and out.
Lots more info and renderings

Image via Jason Farrar

January 29, 2016

Developers Rushed to Get Nearly 8,000 Permits Ahead of 421-a Tax Break Expiration

By Michelle Cohen

With the fate of the city's 421-a tax abatement remaining uncertain, developers scurried to obtain permits before the year's end, resulting in a number of permits granted in December that was more than four times the number issued the previous month, reports the Wall Street Journal. According to new U.S. Census figures, permits for 299 projects containing 7,781 residential housing units were granted during the month of December, indicating that as New York City’s most lucrative property-tax abatement approached its last hours, architects and developers rushed to get building permits and begin construction.
Find out more

January 28, 2016

Affordable Housing Lottery Launched for Lincoln Center Tower, Units Start at $566/Month

By Ondel Hylton

Glenwood Management has just launched their affordable housing lottery for 52 below-market rate apartments within their soon-to-debut rental tower at 175 West 60th Street. Situated within the Lincoln Center area of the Upper West Side, 20 percent of the building's 257 units will be set aside for low-income residents and will range from $566/month studios to $931/month two-bedroom units.
Find out if you qualify

January 25, 2016

Affordable Housing Lottery Starts Today for Nine New Units in Prime Harlem, From $802/Month

By Dana Schulz

The affordable housing lottery for 2049 5th Avenue in central Harlem opens today, and the nine brand new units range from $802/month studios to $2,175/month two-bedrooms, according to the NYC HPD. The address, located just north of 126th Street, was mired in controversy a few years back when tenants sued owners West Harlem Group Assistance for injuries sustained in what they called a crumbling, unkempt building. At the time, the local nonprofit owned about 45 buildings, but 2049 5th Avenue was cited as the worst, with claims of leaky ceilings, no heat, collapsing walls, and broken pipes. In December, 2014, the building finally underwent a gut renovation, which includes these affordable apartments.
Find out if you qualify for the new units

Affordable Housing

Staten Island’s Abandoned Farm Colony to Undergo $91M Development for Senior Housing

Rendering via Nancy Owens Studio

January 20, 2016

Staten Island’s Abandoned Farm Colony to Undergo $91M Development for Senior Housing

By Dana Schulz

Over a year ago, 6sqft shared the news that Staten Island's abandoned farm colony was set to undergo a massive rehabilitation that included a large senior housing building and a massive public park. And just yesterday, the City Council approved the New York City Economic Development Corporation's plan to sell 45 of the site's 96 acres to Staten Island developer Raymond Masucci for $1, according to the Times. Mr. Masucci will pour $91 million into the project, dubbed Landmark Colony, rehabilitating five crumbling Dutch Revival-style structures, tearing down five more but saving their stones for reuse, preserving a 112-year-old dormitory "as a stabilized ruin," constructing 344 condominiums for the 55 and older crowd, and designing 17 acres of public outdoor space.
More on the project and the history of the site

January 20, 2016

POLL: Do Lower Income Residents of Extell’s ‘Poor Door’ Building Have a Right to Complain?

By Dana Schulz

Lower income residents of Extell’s notorious “poor door” building at 50 Riverside Boulevard are not happy with what they’re considering glaring disparities between those like themselves who live in the affordable units and those in the luxury section of the building. Aside from having to use a separate entrance, the lower income tenants don’t have […]

Lower Income Residents of Extell’s ‘Poor Door’ Building Find Glaring Disparities

Image via One Riverside Park

January 18, 2016

Lower Income Residents of Extell’s ‘Poor Door’ Building Find Glaring Disparities

By Michelle Cohen

After receiving 88,000 applications for 55 affordable apartments last February, the residents chosen from among them have been moving in to the rental side of the 33-story luxury building at Extell Development's 50 Riverside Boulevard in Lincoln Square. The lower-income/luxury split sparked the heated “poor door” controversy due to the significant amenity differences and efforts to physically separate the two parts of the building (the rental, low-income portion of the building actually has a separate address of 40 Riverside Boulevard). Now, according to the Post, low-income tenants have been discovering that the differences are indeed notable.
A lavish lobby and a forbidden courtyard

January 14, 2016

Two-Bedroom East Village Co-op Asks Just $695,000, but There’s a Catch

By Emily Nonko

In normal circumstances, it would be easy-as-pie to find a buyer for this East Village co-op, located in the five-story building at 268 East 4th Street. The apartment isn't fancy, but it has two bedrooms and 700 square feet. The ask comes in at a very reasonable $695,000, and that's topped with a very reasonable monthly maintenance of $575. But like all things that sound too good to be true in New York City real estate, there's a catch, and it's not even that this is a fourth-floor walkup. The unit comes from an HDFC regulated cooperative, which means that a buyer must meet certain income guidelines to own it.
More details on the cap

January 8, 2016

Could These Twin Glassy Towers Be Coming to the Greenpoint Waterfront?

By Ondel Hylton

Momentum is building along the Williamsburg-Greenpoint waterfront. Since the Bloomberg administration's sweeping 2003 rezoning of the two-mile stretch of East River shoreline, nearly every buildable river-facing plot has been accounted for by developers. More than a dozen master plans are in the works, dominated by residential uses that scale upward to 50 stories and 600-foot heights. One remaining mystery lot is a block-long parcel in Greenpoint currently holding a two-story warehouse at 161-167 West Street (aka 53 Huron Street). The 65,000-square-foot site lies near the India Street ferry stop and is sandwiched between three development sites: Park Tower Group's ten-tower Greenpoint Landing master plan and Mack Real Estate Group/Palin Enterprises' 10 Huron Street (155 West Street), and The Gibraltar at 160 West Street.
More details ahead

Man Overcharged by Landlord for 16 Years Awarded $900K and a $784/Month Apartment

By Diane Pham

Score one for the little guy! After having his rent-stabilized apartment illegally deregulated and his rent jacked up to more than five times what it should have been, an appellate court has awarded Upper West Side man Lane Altschuler $900,000 in damages, and they've re-stabilized his 1,500-square-foot pad to just $784 a month. According to the Daily News, Altschuler moved into the three-bedroom, two-bath unit at 478 Central Park West back in 2000, but his landlord, Mann Realty, illegally began raising the rent shortly after he got settled. The figure eventually ballooned to $3,750 a month in 2009, right after the building was converted into luxury condos.
more on what happened here

Affordable Housing

January 7, 2016

Housing Lottery for Two $918/Month Apartments Across From MoMA PS1 in LIC Starts Today

By Dana Schulz

The affordable housing lottery for 21-03 46th Avenue in Long Island City officially opens today, and the brand new one-bedroom luxury units will be a mere $918, according to the NYC HPD. Apartments have private terraces, ten-foot ceilings, Brazilian cherry floors, chef's kitchens with stainless steel appliances, and in-unit washers/dryers. Plus, the address is right across from MoMA PS1 and just a block away from the E, M, 7 and G subways. The catch? The building only has eight units and only two of these are deemed affordable.
Feeling lucky? Find out if you qualify.

Affordable Housing

January 5, 2016

Long Island City Rental Tower Will Offer Micro Units for ‘Gen Y Professionals’

By Ondel Hylton

Yesterday, 6sqft discussed how Long Island City's Purves Street is a hotbed of construction activity with no less than four residential towers underway along the 500-foot, one-block stretch. On a site situated between Thomson Avenue (where the pioneer condo Arris Lofts rises) and Court Square, Twining Properties has begun excavation work for a 27-story, 168-unit rental tower at 44-14 Purves Street. According to the developer's project page, the rental tower will be known as Watermark Court Square and is to offer "efficient apartment layouts designed for mobile professionals." The handsome albeit unremarkable design by Handel Architects is faced with grey brick and large windows. According to Department of Buildings filings, the ground-up, 302-foot-tall tower will rise along 44th Drive, while a two-story existing building will be rehabilitated along Purves.
More details and renderings

January 4, 2016

Affordable Housing Lottery Kicks Off at 1770 Madison Avenue–Units Start at $822/Month

By Diane Pham

Starting tomorrow, qualifying New Yorkers will get the chance to apply for one of seven available units at a brand spanking new development located at 1770 Madison Avenue in East Harlem. According to the NYC HPD, studios will start at $822 a month, while one-bedrooms will go for $886 a month. The new rental building wrapped construction at the end of 2015 and market rate units were listed in December with studios priced at $2,295 a month and up to $2,995 for a one-bedroom. Lucky lottery winners and market rate renters at this address will enjoy a locale just four blocks from Central Park and the convenience of living next to the 2, 3 and 6 trains.
Find out if you qualify here

Affordable Housing

December 10, 2015

Affordable Housing Coalition Proposes $4B NY State Budget to Address Housing Crisis

By Dana Schulz

According to a press release put out today, an affordable housing coalition of ten groups has proposed a five-year, $4 billion capital plan to address the housing crisis in New York. As Governor Cuomo and the state legislature begin the 2016 legislative session, the group hopes that the plan, proposed for 2017-2021, can combat the fact that "more than half of statewide renters pay over 30 percent of income on housing costs, and more than 80,000 people are homeless across the state." Specific to the city, the plan wants to close the NYCHA funding gap and increase senior housing.
More details this way

Affordable Housing Lottery Launched for Related’s Yorkville Rental Tower at 205 East 92nd Street

Photographs from mid-October of 205 East 92nd Street by the photoblogger Field Condition.

December 1, 2015

Affordable Housing Lottery Launched for Related’s Yorkville Rental Tower at 205 East 92nd Street

By Ondel Hylton

Related Companies' playground-pouncing rental tower at 205 East 92nd Street has launched its housing lottery that provides below-market rents for 47 of the building's 231 units. The 36-story tower is in its home stretch of construction, prepping for occupancy in early 2016. Vested in the city's and state's Inclusionary Housing /421-a programs, 20 percent of the units will be reserved for low-income tenants. Fifty percent of the subsidized units will be reserved for residents of Manhattan Community Board 8 (covering the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island) and an additional 5 percent for municipal employees. Selected applicants will be provided apartments at a tremendous discount when compared to the neighborhood's market-rate rents. According to CityRealty, the median rental price for a one-bedroom in Yorkville stands at $3,210; and $5,398 for two-bedroom apartments. Affordable one-bedrooms at 205 East 92nd will start at $607 and two-bedrooms at $736.
More details and pricing

November 23, 2015

Listings Go Live Today for NYC’s First Micro Apartment Complex

By Dana Schulz

Carmel Place (formerly known as My Micro NY), the city's much-talked-about first micro apartment complex, began accepting applications for its affordable studios back in September (since then, 60,000 people have applied). And now, a press release from developer Monadnock has announced that listings for 12 of the market-rate units will go live today in anticipation of the February opening date. Along with the launch comes news of Ollie, "an innovative housing model that delivers an all-inclusive living experience." The nine-story modular development will have 55 studios ranging from 260 to 360 square feet, 22 of which will be affordable (of these, 8 will be set aside for formerly homeless veterans) and go for between $950 and $1,500 a month depending on family size and income. The remaining 33 will see prices ranging from $2,540 for a 265-square-foot, furnished, third-floor unit to $2,910 for a 335-square-foot, furnished, second-floor unit.
Find out more

October 28, 2015

VIDEO: Watch My Micro NY Get Built and Go Inside a Completed Unit

By Dana Schulz

6sqft reported in July that My Micro NY, the city’s first micro apartment complex, was fully stacked, reaching its 120-foot height at 335 East 27th Street on the border of Gramercy and Kips Bay. Then, just last month, it was announced that the $17 million development began accepting applications for its 260- to 360-square-foot affordable studios. Up until now, though, we've only seen renderings of the interiors, but a new trailer from the designers nArchitects takes us on a walk through of a completed unit (h/t Curbed), which, although tiny, is quite bright. The video also shows the entire construction process, beginning with fabrication at the Navy Yard to the units being stacked by crane.
Watch the video here

October 28, 2015

Two New Handel-Designed Towers to Sail Onto the Greenpoint Landing Waterfront

By Ondel Hylton

Yesterday it was announced that Brookfield Property Partners is making their first Brooklyn venture by purchasing a majority stake in two Greenpoint Landing development sites for $59.7 million. While better known for their commercial ventures, Brookfield will begin construction early next year on 775 market-rate apartments on two waterfront parcels. The towers should be finished sometime in 2019 at the total cost of $600 million as part of the first phases of the of the 22-acre master plan which is being designed by Handel Architects. Plans filed with the Department of Buildings for Brookfield's sites call for a 30-story, 372-unit rental building at 37 Blue Slip and a larger 39-story, 401-unit tower at 41 Blue Slip. A cul-de-sac will separate the slab-shaped towers, which will open onto a waterfront esplanade designed by James Corner Field Operations.
More renderings right this way

October 21, 2015

POLL: Will the Sale of Stuy Town to Blackstone Make It a More or Less Desirable Place to Live?

By Dana Schulz

The hot topic right now in the real estate world is undoubtedly the $5.3 billion sale of Stuyvesant Town to the Blackstone Group and Canadian investment firm Ivanhoe Cambridge. Aside from the huge sum and the fact that the apartment complex has been long-plagued, what makes this deal so huge is that the new owners agreed to […]

October 20, 2015

Blackstone Buys Stuy Town for $5.3 Billion, Will Preserve Affordable Housing

By Dana Schulz

The saga of Stuyvesant Town continues. The Real Deal reports that the Blackstone Group has partnered with Canadian investment firm Ivanhoe Cambridge to buy Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village for $5.3 billion, just slightly under 2006's $5.4 billion sale. Currently, more than half of the 11,200 apartments in the long-plagued complex (which was built under Robert Moses as affordable housing for veterans returning from WWII) are market rate. And as TRD notes, "As part of the new agreement with the city, Blackstone will reserve 4,500 units at the complex for middle-income families for the next 20 years... An additional 500 units will be slated for low-income families, and Blackstone will not attempt a condominium conversion at the complex." In order to keep the affordable units, the city will provide $225 million in funding; give Blackstone a $144 million low-interest loan through the Housing Development Corporation; and waive $77 million in taxes.
Find out more about the deal

October 16, 2015

New Renderings of Handel Architects’ Torqued 43-Story Rental Underway Near Grand Central

By Ondel Hylton

Groundwork on BLDG Management's 43-story rental tower at 222 East 44th Street is quickly moving forward now that the large block-through parking garage that occupied the site has been removed. The 441,000-square-foot development situated midblock between Second and Third Avenues will house 429 residential units, 87 of which will be deemed affordable. East 44th Street is among the most densely built streetscapes in the city, and will be more so once three other high-rises projects on the stretch are complete. But as 6sqft reported in August, the 556-foot-tall, Handel Architects-designed development employs a unique massing where its elevations are torqued away from the street wall, granting additional light and air to residents.
This way for more details and renderings

October 3, 2015

Affordable Housing Lottery Launched for Bjarke Ingels’ Epic Pyramid, VIA 57 West

By Ondel Hylton

Applications are now being accepted for the 142 affordable apartments in Bjarke Ingels' tetrahedron-shaped rental building dubbed VIA 57 West, aka "the Pyramid Building." By downloading applications here, you and 141 other lucky families may have the chance to live in a future landmark that is already turning out to be the most audacious rental building ever built in the city. The massive, half-block-long development will contain a total of 709 units, of which 20 percent will be deemed affordable. Subsidized rents range from $565/month studios for single-person households making between $19,222 - $24,200 annually, to three-bedroom apartments going for $1,067/month for three- to six-person households.
More construction shots and the full pricing breakdown

September 22, 2015

Americans Are Spending More on Rent and There’s No Relief in Sight

By Dana Schulz

Complaining about high rents is nothing new for New Yorkers, but we're actually not alone in our misery. According to a new study from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and Enterprise Community Partners, reported in the Washington Post, "nearly 15 million [U.S.] households could be 'severely cost-burdened' by 2025, meaning they'll be spending more than half their money on housing." Today, that statistic applies to 11.2 million households (one in four households), which increased by three million since 2012.
What's leading to this staggering rise?

New Report Says Landmarked Districts Don’t Protect Affordable Housing

Historic brownstones in Brooklyn Heights via City Realty

September 15, 2015

New Report Says Landmarked Districts Don’t Protect Affordable Housing

By Dana Schulz

The war wages on between the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and citywide preservationists. Many thought the contention between the groups over whether or not historic districts lessen affordable housing was a personal sentiment of former REBNY president Steven Spinola. But his successor John Banks has released a new report that claims landmarking doesn't protect affordable housing. The report looks at the number of rent-stabilized units in landmarked and non-landmarked districts between 2007 and 2014, finding that "citywide, landmarked properties lost rent stabilized units (-22.5%) at a much higher rate (-5.1%) than non-landmarked properties." Of course preservationists quickly fired back. Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) calls the study "bogus" and says it does nothing to address how many units would have been lost had these areas not been landmarked.
More on the report

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