NYC reveals plan for first combination affordable housing and rec center project
Renderings courtesy of the Hudson Mosaic Development Team
New York City has selected a development team to build the city’s first-ever combination affordable housing and recreation center project. The city announced on Thursday that Camber Property Group, Services for the UnderServed (S:US), and Essence Development will build “Hudson Mosaic,” a mixed-use project with 280 affordable homes and a new community center on a vacant city-owned lot at 388 Hudson Street. The selection follows a request for proposals issued in February, which called for the redevelopment of the site’s northern portion, while a new public plaza is planned for the southern end.
Owned by the Department of Environmental Protection, the roughly 14,000-square-foot lot will be redeveloped with 280 affordable apartments and a modern recreation center owned and operated by the Parks Department.
Shaped by a public engagement campaign that drew more than 500 questionnaire responses, the project reflects the community’s priorities outlined in its Community Visioning Report, delivering fully affordable homes alongside a new space for residents to be active and gather.
The homes will be available through the city’s Housing Connect lottery to a wide range of New Yorkers, from single adults to larger families earning low to moderate incomes. At least 15 percent of the units will be reserved for formerly homeless individuals, who will have access to on-site clinical and supportive services provided by S:US.
Designed by Herzog & de Meuron in collaboration with Curtis + Ginsberg Architects, Hudson Mosaic will be the first city-led development to combine affordable housing with an NYC Parks-run recreation center. The project features an efficient trapezoidal design that minimizes shadows on neighboring streets and J.J. Walker Park, while providing high-quality residential amenities and apartments with views of the Hudson River.
The building will feature a distinctive, varied facade that honors the historic architecture of the West Village while meeting the highest standards for energy efficiency and climate resilience. Key sustainable and resilient design elements include all-electric systems, rooftop solar panels, backup power, and green roofs.
These features will enable the residential portion to meet Passive House standards and the recreation center to achieve LEED Gold certification, while ensuring compliance with Local Law 97.
Open year-round, the fully ADA-accessible recreation center will feature a six-lane indoor pool, a gym with a high school regulation-size basketball court, an indoor walking and running track, cardio and strength rooms, a media lab, and flexible multipurpose rooms.
The center will also deliver a new, permanent public artwork, commissioned through the Department of Cultural Affairs’ “Percent for Art” program.
In the residential building, tenants will have access to a sixth-floor outdoor terrace that wraps around three sides of the building, along with a fitness room, computer room, children’s playroom, laundry facilities, and several community lounges, including a top-floor space overlooking the Hudson River.
“This first-ever combination of affordable housing with a recreation center offers a model of what innovative housing solutions with community input should look like,” Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrión, Jr. said.
“Hudson Mosaic will deliver much-needed housing and resources, and I am proud of the extensive community engagement, coordination between city agencies, and bold vision that brought this project to life.”
Moving forward, the development team will keep community stakeholders and the local community board informed throughout predevelopment and construction, host a meeting to gather feedback on the recreation center’s programming, obtain necessary public approvals, and secure financing before construction begins.
Plans for the parcel to become 100 percent affordable housing were negotiated as part of the Soho/Noho rezoning, approved by the City Council in 2021, although it actually sits just outside the rezoning area, as 6sqft previously reported.
The project will replace the existing Tony Dapolito Rec Center, which is more than 100 years old and considered “structurally compromised.” The cherished neighborhood center has been closed since 2020, and its outdoor pool, since 2019, due to cracks, leaks, and foundation damage.
While the Parks Department has indicated the center will likely be demolished, the agency said the outdoor pool could be relocated to nearby J.J. Walker Park. Additionally, a wall next to the pool featuring a Keith Haring mural, painted by the artist in 1987, will be preserved.
Some residents have been opposed to demolishing the existing rec center and have called for restoring it instead. Local advocacy group Village Preservation has urged Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to save the center instead of demolishing it, but the city budget approved in June did not preserve the building.
The design process for the southern end of the site is already underway, led by the Parks Department, DEP, and the Hudson Square Business Improvement District. The planned Hudson-Houston Plaza will provide 0.26 acres of open space, designed by Matthews Nielsen Landscape Architects, featuring trees, plantings, shaded seating, and sculptural elements.
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