After years of fits and starts, One45 is moving forward — but the details are still being ironed out.
This week, the City Planning Commission will vote on the Harlem project, which, in its current iteration, is expected to include three buildings with 968 apartments, of which 291 would be affordable. That unit mix, though, may change.
In February, developer Bruce Teitelbaum signed a memorandum of understanding pledging to negotiate with city officials and nonprofits to increase the number of affordable housing units to 591, dependent on the project receiving additional subsidies. If this option is pursued, one of the buildings would be 100 percent affordable and operated by nonprofits Concern Housing and West Harlem Group Assistance. These negotiations are ongoing.
In case you have not followed the saga of this project, here’s a brief recap: Teitelbaum took the project (located at 685-691 Lenox Avenue and 112-150 West 145th Street) nearly all the way through the city’s land use review process in 2022. But when it became clear that local City Council member Kristin Richardson Jordan would not support the project, Teitelbaum withdrew his application. Teitelbaum’s final offer before pulling the plug was to set aside 51 percent (458 apartments) as affordable. The Council member maintained that the mix of rents for the apartments was still not adequately affordable for the neighborhood.
After the project imploded, Teitelbaum set up a truck depot on the site (he has since called this move a mistake). Facing several moderate challengers and backlash over the killed project, Richardson Jordan announced in May 2023 that she would not seek re-election. Council member Yusef Salaam took over her seat.
With a shift in local leaders and a new property tax break approved by the state, Teitelbaum filed a new application for the project last year. City Planning will vote on the new application Wednesday, and then it heads to the Council.
So, three years after City Planning approved Teitelbaum’s first application, almost to the day, the commission will vote on the latest iteration.
In other news, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is releasing its application for the newly created Universal Affordability Preference, or UAP, program, which was approved as part of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity. The program, which is replacing the city’s voluntary inclusionary housing program, provides a 20 percent density bonus to projects if all of the extra space is dedicated to permanently affordable housing.
What we’re thinking about: Are you planning to apply for UAP? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com
A thing we’ve learned: Faith-based organizations own more than 84 million square feet in New York City, according to a new report by New York University’s Furman Center. That is the equivalent of 13 percent of Manhattan’s land area. Of the land owned by these organizations, nearly 70 million acres are unused.
Elsewhere in New York…
—The House Committee on Education and the Workforce is calling for an investigation into “improper financial practices” by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East after Politico New York reported that President George Gresham had long used the union’s funds to benefit himself, his allies and family members. “These allegations regarding 1199SEIU’s expenditures on lavish travel, nepotistic arrangements, unexplained payouts to political allies, and concerts or events that do not benefit rank-and-file members, raise serious questions about whether the union and its officers have violated the law,” committee Chair Tim Walberg wrote in a letter to Office of Labor-Management Standards Director Elisabeth Messenger. Gresham has called for an independent review, saying it would “demonstrate the integrity with which we have always managed the resources entrusted to us by our remarkable members.”
— U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he will hold federal funds for NYC highway projects hostage if the city fails to shut down its congestion pricing program, Gothamist reports. MTA officials have indicated that the agency will not stop collecting the tolls until a judge orders them to do so.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Monday was $11.5 million for 155 West 11th Street. The West Village new construction unit is 2,500 square feet and was listed by The Corcoran Group’s Devin Kogel and Christopher Daish.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $32.1 million for 438 4th Avenue. The Gowanus apartment building is 57,000 square feet. Private equity and investment firm The Carlyle Group is listed as the buyer on the deed.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $28.5 million for 123 East 73rd Street. The Lenox Hill townhome is 8,000 square feet. Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing.
— Joseph Jungermann