A Hell’s Kitchen development site that’s been stalled for more than 30 years has finally closed on financing and begun construction, the Wall Street Journal reported, for 1,258 apartments, more than half of which are affordable, a new school and stores.
The $520 million four-building complex, called Gotham West, sits along 45th Street near 11th Avenue, and is being developed by the Gotham Organization. It will have a 31-story market-rate apartment building with 556 units. There will also be 682 affordable units across the other buildings, 20 condominium units, a 670-seat school, stores and private gardens. Tax-exempt bonds, state and federal credits and a group of lenders led by Wells Fargo are helping to finance the project.
Gotham West, was originally conceived of in 1975 as the city pushed to transform a block of warehouses and factories into housing for the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood that was undergoing heavy development at the time. However, the financial struggles of the 1980s and 1990s kept that plan from coming to fruition, and in 2000 the Economic Development Corporation took over the site. It planned to develop space for studios, offices and television production, but in 2005 Mayor Michael Bloomberg rezoned the area and prepared it for affordable housing. After negotiating with neighbors over building constraints, the Gotham Organization paid $35 million to initiate the current plan. [WSJ]
