We’re inching closer to the start of construction of a new residential development at 100 Essex Street, on the site that was once home to the historic Essex Street Market. This means long-anticipated accessibility upgrades (elevator service) at the Delancey Street subway station will finally be completed, hopefully sometime in the year 2028.
The new building, part of the Essex Crossing mega-project, and the MTA station improvements are almost a decade behind schedule. In the spring of 2025, city and state officials and the development team announced they finally had a deal. But details at the time were sparse. On July 15, some of the details were filled in during an informational presentation at Community Board 3’s land use committee.
Charlie Parente, representing Essex Crossing co-developer BFC Partners, provided an overview of the project. The 10-story building will include 99 rental apartments and 15,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space. He said 26 apartments would be considered affordable to low- and middle-income households. The building was designed by S9 Architecture.
During construction, the development team will create an expanded easement for the MTA. The transit authority will then be responsible for installing elevators and an enlarged escalator leading to and from the subway station. The developers plan to hand the space over to the MTA by the end of 2027. Parenete could not say how long the accessibility project would take once the handoff occurs, but he indicated the building itself is expected to open in the fall of 2029.
The MTA stated last year that it would be, “commencing design… (of) a comprehensive set of accessibility upgrades needed to make the (Delancey Street) station complex fully ADA-accessible. This will include three elevators to ensure that all connections and transfers within the station can be made step-free.” The station improvements are being paid for by proceeds from the Congestion Relief Zone.
Community Board 3’s district manager, Susan Stetzer, asked Parente if the current escalator would remain in operation during construction. He replied that the MTA wants it to keep it running for as long as possible, but that safety considerations and city regulations would both be factors. Parente explained, “To the extent it can be open and it can be run in a safe manner, we will do so. But it kind of depends on construction activities and where we land with that.”
As for the housing plan at 100 Essex Street, Parente said there would be a mixture of studio, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units. The below-market-rate units will be permanently affordable. The Essex Crossing team is participating in a program created in 2025, Universal Affordability Preference, which permits 20% more housing than ordinarily would be allowed under New York City’s zoning code if the developer agrees to permanent affordability. The affordable apartments will be available to applicants with annual household incomes between 37% and 130% of Area Median Income (AMI).
At the Community Board meeting, there were questions about the amenity fee that will be charged to all tenants. It will be the same for all residents, those in market rate units and affordable units alike. Land Use Committee Chair Damaris Reyes asked Parente to take the issue back to the development team and to consider a sliding scale for amenities.
The developers envision four commercial spaces along Delancey and Essex streets. Reyes asked whether the developers are seeking a single retail tenant. Parente indicated that the spaces are not continuous, so they will be looking for multiple commercial tenants. They’re targeting “experiential retail” and “food and beverage.” Reyes responded, “There are a lot of restaurants in the area. We have the movie theater, immersive gaming, and less and less smaller shops selling things that the community needs.”
Overall, the Essex Crossing project includes over a thousand apartments, half of which are designated affordable for low- and middle-income households. 100 Essex Street was originally supposed to have been completed in 2018. Demolition and new building permits were filed with the city earlier this year. The development team is hoping to take control of the former Essex Street Market building within the next few weeks, beginning demolition and construction in the fall.
