The developers of Essex Crossing have now released the first rendering of a new eight-story residential building that will be going up at 140 Essex St. One of the former Essex Street Market buildings will be demolished to make room for the project. This morning, the development consortium, Delancey street Associates, also announced they have closed on a $34 million construction loan from Wells Fargo.
The building, on Essex Crossing Site 8, will house 92 studio apartments for low-income seniors. In addition to the residential units, 140 Essex St. will also include 9,600 square feet of ground floor retail space. The architect is Beyer Blinder Belle, which also designed Essex Crossing Site 5 at 145 Clinton St. According to a press release, construction is scheduled to begin in the “coming weeks,” with completion expected in 2019.
The apartments will be available to seniors with annual household incomes at 60% of Area Median Income (about $40,000) and lower. Five of the project sites are located in the former Seward Park Urban Renewal Area. Three old Essex Street Market buildings, including 140 Essex St., were later added to the mix. Former site tenants, who were evicted in 1967, have priority status in all Essex Crossing housing lotteries.
In addition to the $34 million construction loan, Wells Fargo is the tax credit investor on the project, purchasing Low Income Housing Tax Credits allocated by the NYC Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development.
Delancey Street Associates is made up of BFC Partners, L+M Development Partners, Taconic Investment Partners and Goldman Sachs. In the press release, Margaret Anadu of Goldman Sachs’ Urban Investment Group, noted that the firm has now invested $500 million in Essex Crossing.
Site 8 was originally intended as an 80% market rate/20% affordable condo project, but the expiration of the state’s 421-a tax abatement program prompted a reshuffling of the overall plan. You can read more about those changes here.
The new building is one of two sites devoted to senior housing. The first, located at 175 Delancey St., is expected to open to residents in the next several weeks. Residents of both buildings will have access to a senior center run by Grand Street Settlement at 175 Delancey St.
Essex Crossing will eventually include more than 1,000 apartments (52% affordable), a 14-screen movie theater, a medical center from NYU Langone, a new home for the Essex Street Market and many other amenities. The Essex Street Market remains open at 120 Essex St. in the interim. The building soon to be demolished most recently served as the Lowline Lab.
