The city has tapped Douglaston Development and Kinwood Partners to build a 590-unit residential building at the Gansevoort Meat Market site.
The city’s Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals for the site in January, seeking developers for a 10,000-square-foot lot at the corner of Little West 12th Street and 10th Avenue in the Meatpacking District.
Up to 55 percent of the apartments will be set aside as affordable, though the income levels have not yet been finalized. The development team intends to apply for the property tax break 485x; as a result, at least 25 percent of those apartments will need to be affordable, on average, to those earning 60 percent of the area median income. The developers, however, will not seek other city subsidies.
Steven Charno, president of Douglaston, said in an interview that the building’s market-rate units will subsidize the affordable ones. The development team is also not paying for the land, instead taking over the site through a 99-year ground lease and paying a nominal fee.
In an interview, EDC President and CEO Andrew Kimball said the developers were selected in part for their “track record for delivering high-quality developments.” Douglaston, a seasoned affordable housing builder, brought on Kinwood as an emerging developer, Douglaston’s Jed Resnick said. The city’s RFP encouraged teams to include “emerging developers,” defined as firms that have developed less than $30 million worth of projects, built fewer than 150 residential units and taken on fewer than 10 projects in as many years.
Kinwood fits the bill, but its founder comes with industry experience. David Himmel, who was chief operating officer at Jamestown and hails from a well-established real estate family, recently launched Kinwood (in fact, state records show the firm was registered this month).
Kimball said the city received more than 10 applications for the project. The Promote newsletter was first to report that the city selected Douglaston.
The housing development is part of a broader redevelopment plan, dubbed Gansevoort Square, that includes expanding the Whitney Museum. EDC estimates that the plan will create 3,700 construction jobs, 160 permanent positions and have a $1.1 billion economic impact
The site of the residential portion of the project is home to a two-story building, the district’s last meatpacking plant. The Gansevoort Meat Market cut a $31 million deal with the city last year to end its lease, set to expire at the end of 2032, to make way for the redevelopment.
The tower that will rise in the meatpacking plant’s place has drawn criticism from local Council member Erik Bottcher, who expressed concerns about the proposed project’s height. Previous reports pegged the tower at 600 feet, but the development team and EDC said such details will be finalized when the site, which needs to be rezoned for housing use, goes through the city’s land use review process. The city expects to begin that the rezoning process in early 2027.
The local Council member’s sway over what happens on the site will likely hinge on whether the housing ballot measures are approved next week.
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