Developer Chosen For Mixed-Income Building On Holmes Towers Land

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The New York City Housing Authority has awarded private developer Fetner Properties a contract to build a 47-story, mixed-income apartment tower on the site of the Holmes Towers public housing complex, the housing authority announced.

The tower will be the first of its kind under NYCHA's NextGeneration (NextGen) Neighborhoods program — which aims to generate money for public housing repairs by allowing private developers to build on NYCHA land.

“NextGeneration Neighborhoods enables NYCHA to raise critically needed funds, improve residents’ quality of life and provide new affordable housing," NYCHA Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye said in a statement. "This project will fund badly needed repairs, and we will provide resources and amenities such as new playgrounds, a large community center and job opportunities."

The housing authority predicts that the new Holmes Towers development will raise $25 million, NYCHA announced. Half of the revenue generated by the project will be invested toward Holmes Towers' capital needs, according to city officials. Current Holmes Towers residents will not be forced to move or see their rents increase, city officials said.

Fetner Properties' development proposal was chosen for its "community-focused features," which includes a new playground, community space and a recreation center, according to a NYCHA press release. The new apartment tower will be built atop an existing playground in the Holmes Towers development, which had angered some Holmes Towers residents.

The new development will contain around 300 units and will be located in an open space between two existing Holmes Towers developments on 92nd Street, according to the project's original request for proposals. Half of the new tower's units will be offered at market rate rents and half will be offered at rates up to 60 percent of the area median income, according to a NYCHA press release. A portion of the below market-rate units will be offered to individuals earning less than $41,000 and families of three making less than $52,000.

"Securing new resources for our critical public housing stock while creating new affordable housing opportunities is a win-win for our city," Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer said in a statement.

Photo courtesy New York City Housing Authority