More affordable housing is planned for East Harlem, years after a neighborhood rezoning paved the way.
Developer Eli Fouerti filed plans for a 129,000-square-foot building at 2005 Third Avenue on East 110th Street, Crain’s reported. The plans call for a 15-story building standing 173 feet tall with 91 units; Studio V Architecture is the architect of record.
The project includes ground-floor retail space and a day care. The timeline for the project is not clear, as Fouerti didn’t comment to Crain’s on the plans.
Fouerti purchased the site in November for $4.1 million, according to the publication. The site houses a one-story commercial building.
The home appliance seller appears to have multiple projects cooking. In December, Fouerti bought a 71,000-square-foot development site from Robert Hoffman at 2957 Shell Road in Coney Island for $26.2 million. Fouerti has filed plans for a 223,000-square-foot mixed-use building on the site.
The City Council approved the rezoning of East Harlem, spanning 96 blocks. The rezoning was expected to create 1,288 affordable housing units under the mandatory inclusionary housing program. At the time, the city estimated 20 to 25 percent of all new residential units in East Harlem would be affordable; officials estimated the neighborhood had lost 360 housing units in recent years as subsidies expired.
The rezoning plan came with $222 million in promised public investments in the community, including $50 million for New York City Housing Authority’s East Harlem properties. There was also to be $101 million for the creation of a new park between East 125th and East 132nd streets.
In other East Harlem affordable housing news, LIHC Investment Group and Camber Property Group bought a 229-unit, nine-building portfolio, mostly on East 118th and East 119th streets, from Vitus Group for $68 million earlier this year. The developers plan to keep the complex affordable for the next 40 years.
[Crain’s] — Holden Walter-Warner