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Development
New York

NYCHA residents rally over Related, Essence building plan

Developers project $1B price tag around Chelsea project eyed for mixed-income housing

Related's Stephen Ross, Essence Development's Jamar Adams (Related Companies, Essence Development, Getty)
Related's Stephen Ross, Essence Development's Jamar Adams (Related Companies, Essence Development, Getty)

Residents of two Chelsea public housing complexes are coming around on an idea from Essence Development and Stephen Ross’ Related Companies to replace their deteriorating buildings. 

Tenant support for a plan to demolish and rebuild the Chelsea-Elliott Houses and Fulton Houses is gaining momentum, Gothamist reported, more than a year after the developers were announced to repair the properties at an estimated cost of $366 million.

The New York City Housing Authority tenants in 2019 rejected a proposal to tear down at least two of the buildings in the public housing complexes, instead opting to have the private developers renovate. The cost of renovations has skyrocketed to about $1 billion, roughly in line with how much it would cost to build anew.

Related and Essence already planned construction around the existing buildings, where they teamed up to develop mixed-income housing. They are proposing building new apartments while tenants live in the old ones, moving them upon completion and demolishing the old buildings for either new public housing or mixed-income housing.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams recently pitched a similar concept during the annual State of the City speech. Adams’ proposal relied on infill developments to add more built space to existing properties within NYCHA, then moving residents from old to new.

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In Adams’ vision, the new properties would include mixed-income, senior and supportive housing units, as well as market-rate units. A private sector operator could manage those units separately.

NYCHA needs to pull out all the stops after a massive drop in rent collection tied to the pandemic. The housing authority is facing a $500 million shortfall, hindering efforts to make necessary repairs across its portfolio.

As for the complexes in West Chelsea, Essence managing principal Jamar Adams said it would take six years to conduct a replacement project. NYCHA would still oversee the housing, he added, allowing tenants to retain rights.

— Holden Walter-Warner

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