Current View of 1675 Westchester Avenue. Image Credit: Google Maps

The City Planning Commission approved the development of a new 13-story building in Bronx River with 220 affordable housing units and retail space. On August 23, 2017, the New York City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application from the 1675 JV Associates, LLC for a zoning map and text amendment. The zoning map amendment will change the current residential district (R6) into a mixed-use district (R8A/C2-4), and the text amendment will establish a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area on the project site.

The site is currently home to a vacant one-story building, which the borough president described as a “community liability.” The rezoning will permit the development of a new, 13-story building with 220 housing units, 7,570 square feet of retail space, and 6,845 square feet of community facility space. The new building’s residents will enjoy a fitness center, a community room, a computer room, a children’s play room adjacent to a laundry room, an exterior terrace, a garden, and a 24-hour doorman and cameras for security. All 220 units will be affordable—available to households with an Average Median Income ranging from 30% to 100%. While the applicant intends to maintain all units as affordable, the proposed zoning text amendment would ensure that at least 30% of the units (66 units) will be permanently affordable under Option 2 for Mandatory Inclusionary Housing.
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Rendering of proposed development in East Harlem, Manhattan. Image Credit: Perkins Eastman Architects

UPDATE: On June 21, 2017, the City Planning Commission the application from the New York City Education Construction Fund and AvalonBay Communities to redevelop a city block in East Harlem to be appropriate. The proposed development would shift the Marx Brothers Playground to the center of the block and facilitate the construction of two buildings at either end. The eastern building would rise eight stories and contain two public high school relocated from other sites. The western building would rise 63 stories and contain over one million square-feet of residential floor area and the Co-op Tech vocational school.

In its report, the Planning Commission noted the need for new public schools citywide and acknowledged that finding adequate sites and securing funding are major obstacles to addressing that need. The Commission stated that the new high schools would “increase the capacity of the existing overcrowded and outdated schools, allowing more students access to their programs.”

The Commission acknowledged public concern over height and uses of the proposed development. The applicant responded to these concerns by lower the proposed height of the skyscraper from 68 stories to 63 stories. The report noted that the School Construction Fund preferred buildings for new schools be five stories tall, and that the height of the tower would allow the eastern building to be at a height in line with that preference. The Commission also wrote that “there is ample light and air around the block . . . providing the site and neighboring properties with unobstructed light and air from the east.” (more…)

Image Credit: Urban Strategic Partners

The City Planning Commission approved the construction of the Baychester Square Mall, a destination shopping complex and a single building with 180 units of affordable senior housing in the Bronx. On June 21, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on a joint application from the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and Gun Hill Square LLC. The application requested the disposition of city-owned property, three special permits, a zoning map amendment to upzone the site, and a zoning text amendment to designate the project as a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area. (more…)

Rendering of proposed buildings at 1125 Whitlock Avenue as designed by Langan Engineering. Image credit: DCP

The City Planning Commission approved the construction of 474 low-income affordable units in Longwood, Bronx. On June 7, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application from Ader Group, LLC, to facilitate the construction of two new 14-story mixed-use buildings at the intersection of Whitlock Avenue and east 165th Street in the Bronx’s Longwood neighborhood. The application requested a zoning map amendment to change the project area from an M1-1 zoning district to an R8A/C2-4 zoning district, and a zoning text amendment to designate the project as a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area. (more…)

Rendering of 600 East 156th, designed by Curtis + Ginsberg Architects.

The City Planning Commission approved the construction of 175 new affordable units and a new charter school in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx. On April 5, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application from 600 Associates, LLC, an affiliate of the nonprofit developer Phipps Houses. The applicant proposed changing the zoning of the lot in question from manufacturing to residential, and proposed designating the lot as a Mandatory Housing Inclusionary area. The rezoning and designation would facilitate the construction of a twelve-story mixed-use building containing a charter school and 175 units of affordable housing. (more…)