11/14/2016 | NYCEDC
Site 2 Urban Farm Rendering
Last Updated September 12, 2016
In September 2013, the City selected Delancey Street Associates to develop the Essex Crossing project for the Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Project. Located on the largest stretch of undeveloped City-owned land in Manhattan below 96th Street, Essex Crossing will transform existing surface parking lots into vibrant, mixed-use space in one of New York's most dynamic, diverse and historic neighborhoods.
Overview
As a result of a successful collaboration between the local community and the City—through NYCEDC and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)—sites that have largely sat vacant for more than four decades will finally be reintegrated into the vital, urban fabric of the Lower East Side.
Located near the intersection of Essex Street and Delancey Street, the nine sites in Essex Crossing will become a 1.65millionsquare foot development anchored by 1,000 units of housing, half of which will be permanently affordable for low, moderate, and middle income households and senior citizens. In addition, the project—to be called Essex Crossing—includes a 15,000squarefoot open space, a new and expanded Essex Street Market, senior housing and community facilities, a rooftop urban farm, 250,000 square feet of office space, and a diverse mix of retail space. Seward Park will also become a hub of smallbusiness incubation, with microretail spaces and creative and tech coworking and incubator space.
In September 2013, the City selected Delancey Street Associates LLC, a joint venture comprised of L+M Development Partners, BFC Partners, and Taconic Investment Partners, to develop the Essex Crossing project. Delancey Street Associates LLC (DSA) is comprised of affordable housing developers L+M Development Partners, BFC Partners, and Taconic Investment Partners, who will also work with Grand Street Settlement and LESEN on community facilities and outreach.
Project Details
The project will create a vibrant, mixedincome community anchored by new marketrate and permanently affordable, incomelimited housing that offers both rental and homeownership opportunities. There will be a total of 1,000 new rental apartments and condominium units, with 500 units being permanently affordable to low, moderate and middleincome households, including senior citizens. The project will also include homeownership opportunities, with 20% of the condo units being affordable to moderateincome households.
Other project components include:
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A new, expanded Essex Street Market facility relocated directly across Delancey Street (to the southeast corner of Essex and Delancey Streets). An extensive assortment of retail and commercial uses, including a grocery store. The Market Line, a natural lightfilled concourse spanning the cellar level of three sites south of Delancey Street, which includes small to mediumsized vendors stalls with tenants that include retail and foodoriented uses, a culinary incubator, and a center dedicated to encouraging entrepreneurs to learn craft skills and produce and sell handmade merchandise. A bowling alley, movie theater, and fitness center. 250,000 square feet of office space, including creative and tech coworking and incubator space. A community center operated by Grand Street Alliance will provide early childhood and senior services. A 15,000 square foot open space. A rooftop urban farm. A site has also been reserved for a public school, which may be developed in the future by the School Construction Authority. The developers will also upgrade the existing DOT plazas on Delancey Street.
Anticipated Groundbreaking and Completion Dates
The anticipated groundbreaking for the project is summer 2015. The first five buildings, consisting of 580 units of housing including 316 permanently affordable units, are anticipated to be completed by Summer 2018. The next two buildings, including the majority of the remaining housing, are anticipated to be completed by Summer 2021. The final two buildings are anticipated to be completed by 2022 and 2024.
Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP)
The Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) is the formal City public review process for land use changes. The Seward Park MixedUse Development Project was approved by a unanimous City Council vote on October 11, 2012. The complete original Seward Park ULURP Application (prior to changes during the process) can be found at the following link:
View the complete Seward Park ULURP Application (http://www.nycedc.com/projects/sewardparkuniformlandusereviewprocedure)
Community Involvement
The approved ULURP program was built on the framework of all the hard work done by the local stakeholders. Beginning in 2008, Community Board 3’s (CB3’s) Land Use, Zoning, Public and Private Housing Committee worked diligently to gain community consensus on a development program for Seward Park. NYCEDC, HPD, and the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) participated in the process, providing technical support and resources to facilitate the community’s discussion and analysis. CB3 worked to develop a set of project guidelines that were unanimously adopted in January 2011 and a set of urban design principles that were passed in June 2011. The guidelines called for a mixeduse and mixedincome development that is reflective of and compatible with adjacent communities, and the guidelines were used to shape the ULURP application (certified March 2012).
After ULURP approval in October 2012, a Task Force designated by the Community Board met regularly with NYCEDC and HPD, and the RFP issued in January 2013 included their priorities. Respondents to the RFP were required to specifically address the community criteria in their proposals, which were formally part of the selection criteria. Going forward from September 2013, the Task Force will meet quarterly with the development team, and will be consulted on key project aspects throughout predevelopment and construction. The development team will also establish a community liaison and website to serve as a resource for public inquiries. The development team has presented regularly to CB3 at the Land Use, Zoning, Public & Private Housing Committee meetings and specific public meetings dedicated to the project.
Documents related to the CB3 public process can be found at the following link:
View the documents (/projects/sewardparkcommunityinvolvement) related to the CB3 public process
http://www.nycedc.com/project/essex-crossing-development-seward-park 2/5 11/14/2016 | NYCEDC Environmental
In September 2011, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development as lead agency began the environmental review process for the Seward Park Mixed Use Development Project. The Final Environmental Impact Statement was filed on August 10, 2012. For more information regarding the project’s environmental review see the following link:
View more information regarding the project’s environmental review (/projects/sewardparkenvironmental)
News & Updates
NEWS The Market Line at Essex Crossing: Developers Envision the World’s Next Great Public Market (http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2015/10/the-market-line-at-essex-crossing-developers-envision-the-worlds- next-great-public-market.html) October 19, 2015 | Source: The LoDown
NEWS New Mixed-Income Housing on the Lower East Side (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/realestate/new- mixed-income-housing-onthe-lower-east-side.html?ref=realestate&_r=0) July 24, 2015 | Source: New York Times
PRESS RELEASE NYCEDC, Lower East Side BID Recognize the 75th Anniversary of the Historic Essex Street Market on Manhattan’s Lower East Side (/press-release/nycedc-lower-east-side-bid-recognize-75th-anniversary- historic-essex-street-market) May 30, 2015 NYCEDC in partnership with the Lower East Side Business Improvement District and the Lower East Side community today recognized the 75th anniversary of the Essex Street Market.
View All News & Updates
Project Highlights Borough: Manhattan
Essex Crossing project nearing groundbreaking
Former Seward Park Extension Urban Renewal Area sites and surrounding Cityowned sites
Over four years of community engagement to plan for a new mixeduse, mixedincome development
The Seward Park MixedUse Development Project will allow for 1,000 units of housing
Project Tags
Affordable Housing Commercial Retail Open Space Community Center Essex Street Market (/tags/affordablehousing1) (/tags/commercial) (/tags/retail) (/tags/openspace) (/tags/communitycenter) (/tags/essexstreetmarket)
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