NEW YORK, NY – The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer announced today the selection of development teams to build approximately 260 units of affordable housing on two City-owned sites in the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen section of Midtown Manhattan, one located at 806 9th Avenue and another located at 705 10th Avenue. Both sites were identified through the City’s Western Rail Yard plan, today known as Hudson Yards, to be developed into affordable housing to support the future growth of the city as a place for residents of all economic levels. The Ninth Avenue Site will be developed by Housing Works and The Hudson Companies and the Tenth Avenue Site will be developed by Douglaston Development and The Actors Fund.
“As we continue to develop affordable housing across the city at record pace, we are delivering on our commitments to communities. In selecting these development proposals for these critical sites in Hell’s Kitchen, we aren’t just bringing more than 250 new affordable homes to Manhattan, we’re adding vital community space and providing critically needed services to some of our city’s most vulnerable residents to help them lead high quality, fulfilling lives,” said HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. “Good luck and congratulations are in order to all who labored many years to advance the good stewardship of these sites.”
“HDC is proud to support the redevelopment of these sites as a vibrant mix of affordable housing, retail, and community space,” said HDC President Eric Enderlin. “Congratulations to the selected development teams and all of our partners who will be collaborating to bring these visionary and transformative projects to fruition.”
“These 100% affordable housing developments in Hell’s Kitchen are a long time in the making, and we need them now more than ever. These two projects will create desperately needed affordable housing for a wide range of residents, from very low income to moderate income households. Given the severe homelessness and affordability crises we face as a City, these two projects are all the more essential,” said New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. “I want to thank Commissioner Torres-Springer and the development teams for putting together these innovative projects and Community Board 4 for recognizing over a decade ago the opportunity to build affordable housing on these sites.”
“We need more affordable housing in neighborhoods across New York City,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “That’s why I’m happy HPD has selected teams to build 258 new affordable units on these two city-owned sites, as promised in the Hudson Yards Points of Agreement.”
“Housing and open space go hand-in-hand,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP. "We are excited that this development will bring new open space for recreation to Midtown Manhattan, complemented by a public restroom and community center in the adjoining building. We’re grateful to HPD and DEP for their partnership to transform this vacant land into a livable space.”
Rendering of the Tenth Avenue Site, courtesy of S9 Architects
Ninth Avenue site: located at 806 Ninth Avenue, this project will be developed through a partnership between Hudson Companies and Housing Works, Inc., a New York City-based nonprofit that provides supportive housing, healthcare, and a range of social services. The development will contain approximately 100 units of affordable and supportive housing for very low and low-income households, with units set aside for the formerly homeless. The building will feature approximately 11,000 square feet of retail space along Ninth Avenue, including a Housing Works thrift shop. The building will include office space for New York City Transit and below grade parking for emergency vehicles.
Tenth Avenue site: located at 705 Tenth Avenue, this project will be developed by a team led by Douglaston Development and The Actors Fund, a nonprofit that provides housing, as well as social services, health care and insurance counseling, and secondary employment and training services for all people in performing arts and entertainment. The development will contain approximately 160 affordable units that will serve a range of households, including very low, low, and moderate-income households, with units set aside for formerly homeless households. The ground floor of the new building will have an arts-oriented community space to be operated by Spaceworks, public restroom, and adjacent open space that is being developed by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.
“Housing Works is honored to co-develop this groundbreaking project for people living with HIV and low-income families in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. For nearly 30 years, we have demonstrated that housing equals healthcare when it comes to the long-term survival of those living with HIV, as those who have a safe and stable place to live are much more likely to achieve “undetectable” HIV status. Coupled with our new Hell’s Kitchen Community Healthcare Center slated to open in 2020, this project represents a significant investment in our efforts to bring critical services to the HIV community in Manhattan and serves as a powerful symbol of our commitment to ending the epidemic. On behalf of a generation of New Yorkers affected by the HIV crisis, we are grateful to the City of New York and our development partners at the Hudson Companies for helping us realize this important milestone in the fight against homelessness and HIV,” said Andrew Coamey, Senior Vice President for Housing and Capital Development at Housing Works.
“The Hudson Companies is proud to partner with the City of New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Housing Works to create much needed supportive housing for individuals living with HIV along with permanent affordable housing for low-income families in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. The AIDS epidemic is ongoing and the Hell’s Kitchen area maintains New York City’s highest rate of existing residents living with HIV as well as being one of the neighborhoods with the highest new infection rates. We look forward to working with our public and private partners and neighborhood stakeholders to deliver this important project, including a Housing Works flagship store and neighborhood retail within an attractive environmentally responsible building designed by CetraRuddy architects,” said Christopher Tepper of Hudson Companies.
“Douglaston Development is grateful for the opportunity to work with our partner, The Actors Fund, the City of New York, and Spaceworks to realize a plan for 705 Tenth Avenue. The site poses both engineering complexities and a unique design opportunity. To respond to these we have assembled a first-rate team to provide a contextual design that will integrate the new building with the future park. We look forward to continuing our deep roots in Hell’s Kitchen and deliver a project that provides much needed assets to the local community – mixed income housing and a community space that adds to the already robust and vibrant network of arts and culture offerings in Hell’s Kitchen,” said Jeff Levine, Chairman, Douglaston Development.
“One of the challenges we face in our communities, and citywide, is the displacement of working artists and the loss of affordable artist workspace,” said The Actors Fund President & CEO Joseph P. Benincasa. “Through the thoughtful integration of affordable housing and arts and community programming, this building will help to anchor the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen community and build upon its rich cultural history. The Actors Fund is excited for the opportunity to work closely with Douglaston, Spaceworks, the City, the local community and other stakeholder groups to ensure that this project serves as a long-term resource in the neighborhood.”
"Spaceworks is excited to serve the Hell's Kitchen community by developing rehearsal and studio space for artists at all career levels to cultivate their creative practices. We are pleased to partner with the City of New York, Douglaston Development, and The Actors Fund to build a space that will support the existing cultural ecosystem in Hell's Kitchen," said Risa Shoup, Executive Director of Spaceworks.
The Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen RFP sought proposals for two mixed-use, affordable housing developments in the heart of a busy mixed-use area of New York City, surrounded by a commercial corridor, parks, transit, and cultural institutions.
The developments will be part of the City’s Housing New York 2.0 plan to finance 300,000 affordable homes by 2026. The City has financed 87,557 affordable apartments since 2014. To achieve these goals, HPD has accelerated the RFP pipeline, advancing the remaining sites within its dwindling inventory of vacant land suitable for residential development, as well as other public sites identified for affordable housing development. As a result, since January 2014, the City has already issued RFPs for 72 projects across 206 public sites that will generate more than 11,000 affordable homes.
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