American Theatre‘s Editor-in-Chief Rob Weinert-Kendt’s recent article “A Big Table: What the New Irish Arts Center Means for New York” walks readers through both the design and the community impact of the new Irish Arts Center, including several photos of the exterior and interior. The space “marks a welcome addition to the New York cultural landscape at a time of grave uncertainty,” writes Weinert-Kendt.
In an opinion piece for Irish Central, Paul Keating details the time teaching at the original Irish Arts Center location at 553 West 51st Street and his impressions of the new space at 726 11th Avenue. Noting the high caliber of architecture, programming, and performances, Keating writes that the new Irish Arts Center is a place “Irish immigrants and all New Yorkers can call home.”
As reported in Irish Central and New York YIMBY, the New York Irish Arts Center opened last night with an inaugural performance by artist Camille O’Sullivan. Of the Davis Brody Bond-designed building, Irish Central‘s Niall O’Dowd writes, “The physical structure which at four stories high and 21,700 square feet is transformative from the moment you step inside. The programming on its first night was equal to the location.” We are proud to be part of the team that brought the Irish Arts Center to life.
Peninsula 1A, the first phase of the redevelopment of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center into The Peninsula, opened this week with a ribbon-cutting celebration attended by stakeholders and community leaders. The 56,000 square-foot building will provide space for local entrepreneurs including bakers, coffee roasters, caterers, prepared foods producers, and more. Over 100 new jobs are expected over the next five years, turning the site that used to represent hurt and hopelessness into a place of opportunity and hope. More details about Peninsula 1A and a link to the ribbon-cutting video are available at Black Star News.
Ground has broken on the new Rheingold Senior Residences at 15 Monteith Street in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. When completed, Rheingold Senior Residences will provide 94 studio and one-bedroom apartments for low-income seniors. Developed by Southside United HDFC–Los Sures and Churches United for Fair Housing and designed by Magnusson Architecture and Planning, the $67 million project will follow Passive House standards and will include a solar panel on the roof and an electric-powered central heating and cooling system. Amenities will include communal lounge spaces on every floor, an accessible rooftop with raised gardening beds, and a landscaped rear yard. More details and project renderings are available at New York YIMBY‘s website and on BrooklynPaper.com.
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the opening of The Corden, a 62-unit affordable housing development in the Bronx developed by New Destiny Housing. Formerly known as the Bryant, the Corden was renamed at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Carol Corden, the long-serving executive director of New Destiny Housing who retired earlier this year. The $34.5 million development will provide residents with access to on-site services like financial counseling, professional development, case management, programming for children, and other services to promote housing security, according to a press release from the New York State Office of Homes and Community Renewal (NYSHCR). More details and photos from the ribbon-cutting are available on NYSHCR’s website.
As reported in The Real Deal, Gotham Organization has received $250 million in financing for 550 10th Avenue, which will be developed into a 430,000 square-foot mixed-use building. Approximately 30% of the building’s 453 apartments will be affordable. Amenities will include Amazon package storage, a bike room, and a 45th-floor terrace. Gotham will also build a new 80,000 square-foot replacement facility for Covenant House on the adjacent lot as part of the project.
Beach Green Dunes, a 100% affordable housing development in Rockaway Beach, Queens, incorporates a “living street” landscape architecture approach that has kept the site and its residents dry even as the rest of the neighborhood flooded in Tropical Storm Henri. As reported in Fast Company, permeable pavement absorbs water quickly – and beneath the permeable pavement is a layer of a soil and stone mixture that absorbs water that makes it past the permeable layer. This “structural” layer is strong enough to be load-bearing while also allowing tree roots to grow.
Hirschen Singer & Epstein LLP is pleased to announce that firm partners Christine Coletta and Stefanie Marazzi are featured in New York Real Estate Journal‘s “2021 Women in Commercial Real Estate” issue. This special edition of NYREJ recognizes the achievements of women working in commercial real estate and its related fields. Christine‘s real estate practice focuses on mixed-use and multifamily affordable residential development and community-based construction projects in New York City, while Stefanie practices zoning and land use law, representing developers and property owners in obtaining discretionary land use approvals such as rezonings and special permits through ULURP and at the Board of Standards and Appeals. We are proud to have Christine and Stefanie leading the HSE team.
As reported in NIMBY, amenities for the new Gotham Point residential development have been revealed by the developers, the Gotham Organization and RiseBoro Community Partnership. Amenities for the dual-tower development will include a number of outdoor spaces, including an indoor-outdoor fitness center, a rooftop terrace, a rooftop farm, sundecks, and a boathouse. When completed, Gotham Point will provide 1,132 apartment units, of which approximately 75% will be affordable housing available to families of low, moderate, and middle-income means.
Affordable housing development Sendero Verde has received a 2021 American Architecture Award (AAA). The AAAs are organized by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, the European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, and Metropolitan Arts Press. The awards “honor the best, new significant buildings and landscape and planning projects designed and/or built in the United States and abroad by the most important American architects and planners practicing nationally and internationally. ”
The New York Times has published an in-depth feature on the new Irish Arts Center, which is scheduled to open in December at its new location in Hell’s Kitchen. We are thrilled to have been part of the team that brought the next act of this important cultural center to life. You can read more coverage in the Irish Times, 6sqft, Playbill, Irish Central, and New York YIMBY.
As reported in Patch, officials have broken ground on 811 Lexington, an affordable housing development in Bedford-Stuyvesant that will include 63 rent-stabilized apartments for senior citizens earning less than 60% area median income (AMI) and a superintendent’s unit. Approximately one-third of the units will be set aside for senior citizens at risk of homelessness. The development will also include a multi-purpose community room, rooftop garden, office space, and 20 parking spaces for a nearby church. The building is expected to be completed in 2023.
The firm is pleased to announce that it will serve as project counsel for Stapleton Site A RFP, which will transform a City-owned site in Stapleton on the North Shore of Staten Island into 100% affordable housing. Stapleton Site A will be developed by Monadnock, the Sisters of Charity Housing Development Corporation (SCHDC), and the Master Group, in partnership with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).
Passive house affordable housing development Sendero Verde received an Award of Merit in the Multifamily Residence Category of the 2021 Connecticut Green Building Council Awards. Administered by the Connecticut Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, the Awards recognize excellence in green building design throughout the United States. The award was accepted by Steven Winter Associates, Inc., who provided Passive House consulting and verification and other services relating to energy and environmental certifications.
As reported in New York Yimby, construction is progressing at the mixed-use buildings at 55 Suffolk Street and 64 Norfolk Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Together the two buildings will comprise the Broome Street Development, a 387,223 square-foot complex developed by Gotham Organization.
The first four stories of 55 Suffolk Street are currently visible, along with a recently erected construction crane. The structure of 64 Norfolk Street is at street level but is expected to begin rising shortly. The entire Broome Street Development is expected to be completed by June 2023.
Broome Street Development will create 488 rental units, of which 209 will be permanently affordable housing. 55 Suffolk Street will include a new headquarters for the Chinese-American Planning Council, while 64 Norfolk will be the new home of the Beth Hamedrash Hagodol synagogue and cultural center.
A ribbon-cutting on September 29 marked the opening of the new 100% affordable senior housing development at 1490 Southern Boulevard in the Bronx, as reported in the Bronx Times, New York YIMBY, CityLand. The building provides 114 units for households making up to 50% of Area Median Income (AMI); 30% of those units are set aside for formerly homeless older adults. The building also features community space, social service space, a second-floor garden, a fitness center, laundry facilities, and a landscaped terrace. 1490 Southern was developed by Type A Real Estate Advisors, a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) in collaboration with JASA.
The 709-unit Sendero Verde Passive House development was recently featured in the Multi-Housing News article “New-Generation Tools Redefine Energy Efficiency.” The article notes that when completed, Sendero Verde will be the tallest Passive House development in the United States. “Sendero Verde’s energy-saving features include triple-glazed windows, increased insulation and an airtight building envelope that reduces drafts and energy loss,” writes the author. “These designs are expected to reduce energy consumption by as much as 70 percent, compared to a conventionally constructed project of similar size.”
As reported in Urbanize New York, construction started this week on The Eliza, a new multi-use building in Inwood at 4790 Broadway. When completed, The Eliza will provide a new home for the Inwood Branch of the New York Public Library as well as 174 affordable housing units, a pre-kindergarten facility, and community facilities. Construction is expected to be completed by October 2023.
Construction on the new Irish Arts Center has completed, as reported in New York YIMBY. When open, the Davis Brody Bond-designed Center will feature a 199-seat flexible theater, rehearsal studio classroom and rehearsal spaces, library classroom, exhibit areas, two dressing rooms, a cafe, and a historically restored 99-seat theater.
Real Estate Weekly, 6sqft, New York YIMBY published first-look renderings of the new Gotham Point towers that will be part of the Hunter’s Point South affordable housing development. Designed by Handel Architects, the two-tower Gotham Point will include apartments with East River views, rooftop terrace and urban rooftop farm, sundecks, indoor-outdoor fitness center, and co-working spaces. Arts nonprofit Flux Factory will occupy 3,000 square feet of retail space and house the organization’s artists-in-residency program to support emerging artists. Every aspect of the design and function is intended to support the developers’ vision of an inclusive community that can be home to mixed-income and multigenerational residents.
As reported in Sunnyside Post, The Gotham Organization announced that the first tower of the Gotham Point / Hunter’s Point South affordable housing development will be completed by the end of 2021. The South Tower, located on Parcel G between 2nd Street and Newton Creek, will span 33 stories and feature 443 residential units.
As reported in Bowery Boogie, construction progress is visible at 55 Suffolk Street, the site of the first phase of a new affordable housing complex. When completed, the 30-story building will be part of a development by the Gotham Organization and the Chinese-American Planning Council that will bring 493 apartments, 209 of which will be earmarked for affordable housing, to the neighborhood. The development will also include commercial, retail, and community facilities, including a commercial condo for Beth Hamedrash Hagodol, whose landmark home sited at 55 Suffolk Street was destroyed by an arsonist in 2017.
Construction on Bronx Point and the Universal Hip Hop Museum is progressing, as documented by Construction Equipment Guide. The article features construction photos and interviews with city officials and developer L+M Development Partners:
“Bronx Point represents a transformative mixed-use waterfront development of approximately 530,000 square feet that will bring 542 units of permanently affordable housing, interactive and educational community facilities, dynamic retail spaces and engaging new open space adjoining the Harlem River waterfront in the South Bronx,” said Bernadette Amarosa, L&M Development Partners construction project manager. “UHHM will be an anchor that will attract global supporters of hip hop history and culture.”
The Far Rockaway Village and Archer Green affordable housing developments each earned a spot on Multi-Housing News’ “Top 5 Affordable Housing Projects Under Construction in NYC” list. The list is based on the size of affordable housing developments under construction throughout New York City, based on data from Yardi Matrix. Far Rockaway Village is on track completion in Q1 2022 and Archer Green is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Construction has started on Atrium at Sumner, an affordable housing development sited on the Sumner Houses campus in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Occupying a formerly vacant lot, the completed Atrium at Sumner will provide 190 apartments, 57 of which will be reserved for homeless senior citizens. The remaining units will be rented to individuals and households earning at or below 50% of the area median income (AMI). In addition to the indoor garden housed in the namesake central atrium, the building will also include a social services suite, exercise room, community garden, and 7,500 square feet of community space. You can read more about the Atrium at Sumner in YIMBY.
In the New York Times article “A Rebirth in the Bronx: Is This How to Save Public Housing?” author Michael Kimmelman compares two affordable housing developments in the Bronx – Edelman Houses and Baychester Houses – to highlight the differences that thoughtful community redevelopment can make. “Side by side, the two projects make a textbook before-and-after comparison, one derelict [Edelman], the other refurbished [Baychester],” writes Kimmelman.
Redeveloped by L+M Development Partners with Camber Property Group, MBD Community Housing Corporation, and property owner NYCHA, Baychester Houses features new common areas, apartment upgrades like new fixtures and appliances, a farmers market, and increased security – all without changing the affordability of the apartments.
As reported by Adventist Today and Adventist News, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held today for Northeastern Towers Annex, an upcoming affordable housing development in southeast Queens that will be constructed adjacent to the existing Northeastern Towers senior citizen affordable housing development. When completed, Northeastern Towers Annex will provide 158 units of affordable housing for residents at or below 50% of Area Median Income (AMI), a community room, exercise and wellness center, social service office suite, and rooftop terrace and garden.
As reported in Urbanize New York, permits have been filed for a 15-story residential building at 888 Fountain Avenue in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. Developed by L+M Development Partners and designed by Dattner Architects, 888 Fountain Avenue will create over 400 residential units and 8,000 square feet of commercial space.
An opinion piece in the New York Daily News cited the Bronx Point and Gotham Point / Hunters Point South affordable housing developments as examples of new developments that meet The Waterfront Alliance’s Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines (WEDG).
Phipps House has closed on $217 million in construction financing for the first phase of the Atlantic Chestnut affordable housing development, as reported by the New York Real Estate Journal. When completed, Atlantic Chestnut will be the largest project developed under the 2016 East New York rezoning. The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the New York City Housing Development Corp.’s (HDC) ELLA Program, and Wells Fargo provided financing.
As reported in the New York Real Estate Journal, a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy was issued to the Doe Fund for the new affordable and supportive housing development at 1325 Jerome Avenue. Featuring 82 studio units, 92 one-bedroom units, 53 two-bedroom units, 27 three-bedroom units, and one live-in superintendent, the development is the largest of The Doe Fund’s eleven affordable and supportive housing residences in operation and development. It will serve formerly homeless individuals and individuals and households from the NYCHA waitlist.
As reported in Real Estate Weekly, financing has closed on the second and final phase of Sendero Verde, a Passive House affordable mixed-use development in East Harlem. $223 million in Phase 2 financing included New York City Housing Development Corporation and New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development construction loans, a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority grant, and Resolution A funding from the NYC Council and Borough Presidents Discretionary Funding, along with a Citi Bank letter of credit, LIHTCs, and solar investment tax credits.
The closing of Phase 2 financing was also covered by Crain’s New York, Finance Advice Today, the New York Business Journal, Multi-Housing News, and New York YIMBY.
Phipps Houses has closed $217 million in construction financing for Atlantic Chestnut, an affordable housing project in East New York that Bklynr reported will be the largest development in the neighborhood since it was rezoned in 2016. The 14-story building will include 1,165 apartments, 34.5% of which will be reserved for families earning 40-80% of area median income and 15% of which will be reserved for formerly homeless individuals. The development will feature commercial space, rooftop deck, courtyard, and on-site social services provided by a local non-profit. Atlantic Chestnut has a planned completion date of 2023.
You can read more about Atlantic Chestnut in Brooklyn Paper, Urbanize New York, Brownstoner, New York YIMBY, Real Estate Weekly, Multi-Housing News, and Construction Equipment Guide.
The Urban Land Institute New York has named Beach Green Dunes as one of three finalists for the 2021 Excellence in Affordable Housing Development award. The ULI New York Awards for Excellence in Development recognize every aspect of the development process, including architecture and design. More information about the awards and the nominees can be found on the Awards for Excellence in Development website.
As reported in YIMBY, two of the five buildings in the new La Central development are now complete. Buildings A and B will provide almost 500 income-restricted units, available to people earning between 30% and 100% of Area Median Income, along with a new YMCA, a mix of retail businesses, and a rooftop farm. When all five buildings are complete La Central will provide more than 1,000 affordable apartments and 80,000 square feet of community facilities.
The opening of buildings A and B was also covered by New York Real Estate Journal, 6sqft, Norwood News, and Bronx Times.
As reported in YIMBY, plans have been updated for a 100% affordable housing development at 4790 Broadway in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan. The 14-story facility will include 174 affordable residential units, a public library, a 6,800 square-foot pre-school/pre-kindergarten operated by the New York City Department of Education, 10,000 square feet of community spaces managed by the Community League of the Heights (CLOTH) and Children’s Village, and over 2,000 square feet of flexible classroom space for STEAM managed by First Robotics. The development will be named The Eliza in honor of Eliza Hamilton, the wife of Alexander Hamilton.
You can also read coverage in The Real Deal.
In partnership with developer Gotham Organization, the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) has broken ground on two new developments at 55 Suffolk Street and 64 Norfolk Street on New York City’s Lower East Side. The 55 Suffolk Street development will be home to a new, 40,000 square-foot CPC headquarters; 378 rental homes, 25% of which will be affordable, and 18,000 square feet of retail space.
The 84,000 square-foot new construction development at 64 Norfolk Street will create 115 affordable housing units for senior citizens and a new 4,000 square-foot congregation and cultural heritage center for the Beth Hamedrash Hagodol (BHH) synagogue. You can read more about the groundbreaking on CPC’s website.
As covered in Real Estate Weekly, the groundbreaking for the new Bronx Point development brought L+M Development Partners together with hip hop luminaries and New York City officials. The 22-story Bronx Point development will provide 542 affordable apartments, an early childhood space, outdoor science programming, and the home of the Universal Hip Hop Museum.
The groundbreaking was also covered by ABC4 News and New York YIMBY. As reported in the New York Post, the development will also support efforts to make New York City’s waterfront a more sustainably developed area.
Construction will begin this month on a $36 million senior housing complex at 811 Lexington Avenue on the site of a former parking lot in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Developed by IMPACCT Brooklyn, the four-story building will provide 63 apartments reserved for low-income seniors, who will also receive rental subsidies. Twenty of the units will be reserved for seniors at risk for homelessness. The development will also include a dedicated apartment for a live-in superintendent, a community room, and a roof-level recreation room that opens onto a planned green roof and garden. Read more about this project in BKReader.
Photos published in New York NIMBY show facade progress on Parcel G in the Hunter’s Point South development. The red brick and glass facade is approximately 75% built to the parapet and will provide residents with unobstructed views of the East River.
The development team behind Cooper Park Commons recently presented new renderings and more details about the project to Brooklyn Community Board 1. Sited on the former Greenpoint Hospital grounds in East Williamsburg, Cooper Park Commons will consist of four buildings: two renovated existing historic buildings and two newly constructed buildings. Three of the buildings will provide a total of 557 units of affordable housing, 20% of which will be reserved specifically for senior citizens. The fourth building will serve as a 200-bed homeless shelter, replacing the current shelter that has existed since 1982.
In addition to housing, the two new buildings will provide a cafe, a business and workforce development center operated by development partner St. Nicks Alliance, a walk-in health clinic, and a senior center, along with amenities like solar panels, playrooms for children, resident lounges, laundry rooms, fitness centers, bike storage, and rooftop terraces.
Cooper Park Commons is being developed through a joint venture with Hudson Companies Inc., St. Nicks Alliance, and Project Renewal, and designed by Magnusson Architecture and Planning and Architecture Outfit.
As reported by Brownstoner, the development plans “were enthusiastically embraced by local residents.”
As reported in YIMBY, construction on the mixed-use development at 145 West 108th Street in New York City is nearing completion. Developed by the West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing, the 200,000 square-foot, 11-story building will include 199 residential units for low-income families and senior citizens, as well as a new facility for Valley Lodge that will serve 110 seniors. The development will also feature community facility space, a new home for the Central Park Medical Unit, and public restrooms for the adjacent Anibal Aviles Playground.
Excavation has begun on the Lower East Side at the site of what will become the Broome Street Development. The mixed-use project developed Gotham Organization will include 488 rental units, 43% of which will be affordable housing. The 387,223 square-foot development is scheduled to be completed by June 2023.
Next City recently profiled the upcoming Universal Hip Hop Museum, which will be part of the Bronx Point development. The in-depth article is part of Next City‘s “For Whom, By Whom” series that explores “how creative placemaking can expand opportunities for low-income people living in disinvested communities.”
The new Urban League Empowerment Center Project has officially broken ground in Harlem. The $242 million project will bring to life the 42,000 square-foot national headquarters for the National Urban League, a 19,500 square-foot National Urban League Institute for Race, Equity and Justice conference center, and a 21,500 square-foot Urban Civil Rights Museum Experience.
The joint venture behind the affordable housing Sendero Verde development was praised in “Building Climate Resilience in Cities Worldwide,” a report authored by the Urban Land Institute and the Centre for Liveable Cities. “Inclusion is best achieved when all communities have effective voices in decision-making processes,” write the authors. “In addition to direct public outreach, stakeholders can also identify and partner with organisations and individuals in the community and position them in roles with meaningful influence.” The report cites the joint venture of L+M Development Partners, Jonathan Rose Companies, and the community organization Acacia Network and its development of Sendero Verde as an example of how this aspirational goal can be achieved.
BFC Partners, L+M Development Partners, Taconic Partners, the Prusik Group and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group (collectively, “Delancey Street Associates”) has unveiled plans for One Essex Crossing, a 14-story condominium with 83 units built around an elevated 9,000 square foot amenity garden. You can read more about the project in NYREJ.
CityRealty recently featured upcoming museum and cultural projects throughout New York City, including several client developments.
The Urban Civil Rights Museum will be located at the Urban League Empowerment Center, the new headquarters of the Urban League in Harlem. The Museum will focus on “the development of Harlem as a ‘beacon for African American progress,” including an exploration of the impact of urbanization on African Americans and a showcase of the role of the civil rights movement in the development of cities across America.
Part of the Bronx Point development, the Universal Hip Hop Museum will celebrate and preserve “the history of local and global hip-hop music and culture to inspire, empower, and promote understanding.” The Museum is founded by hip hop legends including Kurtis Blow and Grandmaster Melle Mel, and will feature educational and entertainment experiences.
The new Irish Arts Center will be located at 726 Eleventh Avenue on the former site of an auto repair shop. Now in its 49th year, the Center will continue to project “a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America for the 21st century,” and build community among cross-cultural artists and audiences.
Congratulations to Handel Architects on earning a Merit Award in Multi-Family Residential Design from the Society of American Registered Architects (SARA) for The Essex at Essex Crossing. The national awards recognized 34 projects across a variety of disciplines. You can view the entire list here.