Douglaston Development and The Hudson Companies have been tapped by the city to build two affordable housing developments within the Hudson Yards neighborhood.
The city-owned sites at 806 9th Avenue and 705 10th Avenue were earmarked early on in the rezoning of what was the Western Rail Yard plan when Hudson Yards were conceived.
The developers will work with non-profit partners Housing Works and The Actors Fund to build 260 affordable apartments as well as retail, community arts facilities and open space.
“In selecting these development proposals … 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 Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer.
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.
Working with architect CetraRuddy and Housing Works — which provides supportive housing, healthcare, and social services — Hudson Companies’ development at 806 Ninth Avenue will have 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 have 11,000 s/f of retail 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.
At 705 Tenth Avenue, Douglaston Development will work with 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.
That development will have 160 affordable units for very low, low, and moderate-income households, with units set aside for formerly homeless households.
The ground floor will have an arts-oriented community space to be operated by Spaceworks, a 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,” said Andrew Coamey, senior vice president for Housing and Capital Development at Housing Works.
“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,”
“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 Chris Tepper of the Hudson Companies.
Jeff Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, said the site at 705 Tenth Avenue “poses both engineering complexities and a unique design opportunity.”
He added, “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.”
