Project Description
The proposal involves an application by New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), on behalf of the project sponsor, Lemor Realty Corp., in partnership with Apex Building Group, for discretionary actions subject to City Planning Commission (CPC) approval (collectively, the Proposed Actions) include designation of an Urban Development Action Area, approval of an Urban Development Action Area Project (UDAAP), and the disposition of City-owned property to facilitate the construction of a new 7-story mixed use building containing affordable housing, community facility and retail space (the Proposed Development) at 263-267 West 126th Street (Block 1932, Lots 5, 7, and 107 the Project Area or Development Site) in the Central Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, Community District 10.. The project sponsor would also request construction financing from HPD, through HPDs Neighborhood Construction Program (NCP) at a later date. The Project Area is located on the north side of West 126th Street between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. The City of New York owns all three lots that constitute the Project Area. The Project Area measures approximately 8,492 square feet (sf) and is currently undeveloped. Currently, the Project Area contains an interim Green Thumb community garden operating under a temporary license agreement with HPD, which allows for garden related activities until the lots are ready for development. The Project Area is currently zoned R7-2/C2-4. The Proposed Actions would facilitate the Proposed Development of the Project Area with a new 7- story (approximately 75 feet in height) building with a total floor area of approximately 45,613 gross square feet (gsf). The Proposed Development would contain approximately 37 mixed-income affordable rental units containing 11 studios, 12 one-bedroom, 11 two-bedroom, and 3 three-bedroom units, with one unit reserved for a building superintendent. In addition to the residential units, it is currently anticipated that the Proposed Development would contain approximately 1,362 square feet of community facility space for Silicon Harlems App Youth Leadership Academy (AYLA) on the ground floor, approximately 4,500 square feet of tech incubator space to be used by Silicon Harlem and approximately 1,200 square feet of retail space tentatively programmed as a café. SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED ACTIONS Urban Development Action Area Project (UDAAP) The Project Area (Block 1932, Lots 5, 7, and 107) would be designated as an Urban Development Action Area and the Proposed Development would be approved as an UDAAP. Disposition of City Owned Property HPD, on behalf of the project sponsor, is seeking disposition authority for the currently City-owned Project Area (Block 1932, Lots 5, 7, and 107) to facilitate the construction of the Proposed Development. The disposition of these three City-owned properties would be approved pursuant to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). Block 1932, Lots 5, 7, and 107 are also referred to as the Disposition Area in the ULURP application. According to the Environmental Assessment Statement (EAS), the Proposed Development would be constructed pursuant to the existing R7-2/C2-4 zoning district, and in a single phase with completion and occupancy expected by 2020. In the future absent the Proposed Actions (the No-Action Condition), HPD would maintain ownership of the Project Area, and future redevelopment of the Project Area would not be possible without HPD applying for actions subject to CPC review and approval. Therefore, the EAS assumes that under the No-Action condition, the existing conditions of the Project Area would remain the same.
