Revealed: 10 New Developments Slated for New York City

185 East 109th Street (S. Wieder Architect) and 134 Hope Street (via JFA)Over the past several years, New York’s housing construction has failed to keep pace with the city’s growing population. The City notes that construction lagged in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and that pandemic-induced halts of all but the most essential construction left a mark. Through it all, the gap between housing costs and wages continued to widen.

During his campaign for mayor of New York City, Eric Adams released a housing plan calling for the legalization of basement apartments and SROs, as well as rezoning to allow for more multi-family buildings and the conversion of vacant office buildings and hotels into affordable housing. Since his inauguration, he has unveiled NYC Speaks, a citywide survey used to determine the issues New Yorkers want City Hall to focus on in the runup to the June budget. It focuses on eight issue areas, Housing & Neighborhoods among them, and closes on January 28, 2022.

Some are thinking bigger than a few policy changes. A guest essay in The New York Times calls for expanding the island of Manhattan into New York Harbor, a move that the author says will allow for a significant number of housing units and absorb storm surges caused by climate change. As we wait to see how all these will play out, we take a look at newly revealed developments throughout New York City.

New York Times' plan to expand Manhattan ()

Forthcoming Developments

Following East Harlem’s 2017 rezoning, the neighborhood has seen an influx of new development. The latest entry is 185 East 109th Street, a 17-story, 101-unit building that will most likely be a rental. Renderings by S. Wieder Architects depict a sleek tower with ground-floor retail, a multi-toned facade, and corner balconies.

On the designer's Instagram page, a closeup on one of the upper-level terraces shows what appears to be amenity space - an indoor pool with access to an outdoor sun deck. Additional amenities are expected to include a fitness center, bike room, and business center. Demolition permits for the four-story building previously on-site were filed in September 2021, but a completion estimate is not yet available.

All renderings of 185 East 109th Street via S. Wieder Architects 1440-Amsterdam-Avenue-02

In a 2021 interview, Yiannis Einhorn told CityRealty that his firm, Grid Group, was looking at sites all over New York, including Harlem. Less than a year later, plans have been filed for a 26-story, 393-unit tower at 1440 Amsterdam Avenue, located near West 131st Street. The architect of record is GLUCK+, designer of Grid Group’s 145 Central Park North.

The lot is part of NYCHA’s Manhattanville Houses campus, and has sat vacant since the Associated Supermarket previously on-site was destroyed in a fire in 2013. As per the FRESH tax incentive, the new development is guaranteed to have a supermarket; it will also include a community facility.

NYCHA is currently contemplating the transfer of air rights and two small parcels of land, but nothing has been finalized or sold yet (h/t Patch). Sale proceeds from the air rights deal to go towards PACT repairs and improvements at Manhattanville.

Rendering via NYC DOB 82-East-127th-Street-01

Permits have been filed for a new mixed-use development to rise on a vacant lot at 82 East 127th Street. GF55 Architects is listed as the designer of record, and owner Artimus Construction is listed as 126th Street Equities LLC. The 18-story, 152-unit building will most likely be a rental, based on the average unit size of 707 square feet.

The first floor and cellar will be devoted to “a sports/athletic store,” and the apartments will start on the fourth floor. Amenities will include a bike room, package room, laundry room, fitness room, lounges, outdoor terraces on the third and eighteenth floors, private storage on every floor, and a rooftop terrace. An estimated completion date has not been provided.

All renderings via J. Frankl ArchitectsDays before New York went on lockdown in March 2020, the de Blasio administration approved Clipper Equities’ plans for a seven-story rental building at 134 Hope Street. The developer landed a $79 million construction loan in May 2021, and work is underway.

At the end of construction, which is estimated to take 24 months, the seven-story building will feature boutique retail space, co-working space, and 143 apartments. The design by J. Frankl Architects is distinguished by a textural brick facade and a series of sculptural interventions designed to connect indoor and outdoor space. Amenities are set to include a courtyard, gym, co-working space, mail/package room, roof deck, bike room, 72 parking spaces, and laundry rooms on every floor. The site is fairly surrounded by Williamsburg hot spots, and the Metropolitan Avenue G train is two blocks away.

134 Hope Street

The Norma, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Designer TBA | Completion TBA

Rendering via NYC Department of Housing Preservation and DevelopmentAt the end of 2021, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced that Almat Urban and the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation would be development partners on Site 1 of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Community Wealth and Wellness RFP. Dubbed The Norma, this 100 percent affordable homeownership development will be financed through HPD’s Open Door program.

The majority of the 44 one- to three-bedroom “condo-style co-op” units are said to be between 70 and 100 percent of the Area Median Income, and no higher than 110 percent. Amenities will include Juliet balconies, washer/dryer hookups, basement-level storage units, and second-floor community terrace. The project will be constructed to Passive House standards with a fully electric mechanical heating and cooling system.

Below the apartments, the Brownsville Multi Service Wellness and Health Center will operate a new urgent care facility on the ground floor. The city-owned site is located one block east of the Ralph Avenue C train and local resources like grocery stores, pharmacies, a post office, and schools.

Rendering via Gemsdale USAIn September 2019, Avery Hall Investments bought a development site at 469 President Street, 473 President Street, and 514 Union Street from Eco-Rise Development for $44.1 million. The 1.6-acre assemblage comprises nine separate tax lots and 10 warehouse buildings. Co-working service Knotel had previously signed a lease to anchor a commercial project at the site, but that deal did not pan out.

A partnership between Avery Hall Investments and Gemsdale USA plans to remediate the site and redevelop it as a multi-phase, mixed-income, and mixed-use development. At full buildout, the SLCE Architects-designed project is expected to consist of 40,000 square feet of retail/commercial space and 300 rental units. Residential amenities will include a rooftop pool club, fitness center with yoga studio, meditation room, coworking spaces, dog run, bike room, and on-site parking. The team planned to break ground in 2020 and aim for a 2023 completion, but it remains to be seen how the pandemic affected that timeline.

As the project is centered around the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club (“Royal Palms”), it has generated considerable interest and concern among locals. Owners Ashley Albert and Jonathan Schnapp opened the club in a Gowanus warehouse in 2013, following months of fundraisers and Kickstarters. Less than 10 years later, it is a community fixture with a second location in Chicago. The lease ends in 2022 and comes with a stipulation that if Gowanus got rezoned before the lease ended, Royal Palms was guaranteed two years rent at market rate. The rezoning was officially approved in fall 2021, and Avery Hall Investments has said they do not plan to close Royal Palms.

Rendering via Fogarty FingerThe Gowanus section of Brooklyn has seen trickles of new development over the past few years, and the rezoning passed the City Council at the end of 2021. This move is expected to bring 8,000 new housing units to the neighborhood, 3,000 of which will be affordable. Experts told Crain's New York Business that they expect the market to stay extremely active going forward, especially with the 421-a program set to expire in June.

In this environment, Tavros Capital and Charney Cos. are purchasing 300 Nevins Street for $102 million from Property Markets Group. Renderings show two towers - one 17 stories, one 22 stories - and at least 25 percent of the planned 660 units will be affordable. Demolition is expected to begin immediately, and the companies plan to start construction in earnest in spring.

As 2177 60th Street shows, Brooklyn's building boom is not slowing down; if anything, it is extending further south in the borough. The new building's design by S. Wieder Architects depicts an eight-story building with grade-level retail space, a gray stone facade, floor-to-ceiling windows, and glassy upper-level terraces. Details on the interiors are not yet available, but future residents of the 44 units can be assured of incredible natural light.

Amenities are expected to include on-site parking. The site is located on the cusp of Midwood and Bensonhurst near Washington Cemetery, the Brooklyn Public Library Ryder branch, grocery stores and local conveniences, and the Avenue N F train.

All renderings of 2177 60th Street via S. Wieder Architects 2-33-50th-Avenue-01

Rendering via Domain CompaniesIn September 2021, developers Vorea Group, Domain Companies, and L+M Development Partners closed on a parcel at 2-33 50th Avenue, which is located in an Opportunity Zone, for $88 million. Demolition permits were filed for the two-story warehouse in October 2021 so as to make way for the planned 12-story, 500-unit building (most likely a rental) with commercial space. The Real Deal points out that this was the second-largest new project by square footage filed in August 2021, second only to 589 Fulton Street in Brooklyn

More recently, renderings of the design by S9 Architecture have been revealed. The red brick and casement-style windows pay homage to the area’s industrial history, and the rendering shows a number of outdoor terraces. The project is aiming for LEED Platinum certification.

River Commons, Bronx
Designer TBA | Completion TBA

Rendering via New York City Department of Housing Preservation and DevelopmentAs part of the Jerome Avenue rezoning, HPD recently announced plans to bring more affordable housing and community space to this area. “Site A,” located on River Avenue, is currently owned by the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and used as a surface parking lot, but development partners BronxWorks, L+M Development Partners, and Type A Projects proposed River Commons, a new development with affordable units and community space, to rise in its place.

The 278 deeply affordable units will comprise 112 studios, 89 one-beds, 63 two-beds, and 14 three-beds. The project will also feature two community facilities: The BronxWorks Empowerment Center will provide services like health and nutrition education, fresh food access, family support, employment services, and after-school and summer programming. Elsewhere, the African Resource Center (a proposed collaboration between the African Advisory Council and African Communities Together) will provide educational services, programs, and community space to the area’s fast-growing and underserved African community.

32 West 48th Street, Midtown West
Design by SLCE Architects | Completion estimated for 2024

Construction site rendering (Extell Development Company)Developer Extell's plans for a hotel in the Diamond District have been underway for quite some time now, but seriously took shape starting at the end of last year. Permits were filed with the Department of Buildings in late 2020, and a recent site visit saw work underway.

Extell purchased the former site of the Plaza Arcade for $40 million in November 2018, and the purchase of air rights from several adjacent properties allows for the construction of a 33-story, 168,897-square-foot hotel. The 534 rooms will start on the fourth floor, and amenities are set to include an attended lobby, a fitness center, restaurants, a lounge, and a rooftop restaurant.