City Planning approves TF Cornerstone’s West Side project

Unanimous vote tied to developer's promise to maximize affordable housing

From top left: Thomas and Fred Elghanayan and a rendering of 606 West 57th Street
From top left: Thomas and Fred Elghanayan and a rendering of 606 West 57th Street

The City Planning Commission green lighted TF Cornerstone’s 1.9-acre residential complex on the far West Side Monday, in a rezoning approval tied to the project’s inclusion of affordable housing.

The project, located at 606 West 57th Street, would include a total of 1,189 units, 237 of which would be permanently affordable. Another 42,000 square feet of commercial or community facility space is also part of the plan, and TF Cornerstone is pursuing city approval on several zoning changes that would permit a larger building than is currently allowed on the site.

“This rezoning, if enacted, substantially increases the value of this development site, and as I have said before, we want to ensure that the public can share in the increased value through the provision of affordable housing,” Carl Weisbrod, chair of the CPC, said before voting yes on the development’s requested rezoning.

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Weisbrod also signaled a shift from a longstanding policy in which commercial space is exempt from calculations to determine how much affordable housing is required in a development project.

“Where the predominant portion of the development is housing, for the most part, we are going to be looking at the entire development,” Weisbrod told Crain’s.

The approval comes on the heels of the CPC’s approval of Two Trees’ Domino Sugar refinery conversion on the Williamsburg waterfront – a thumbs up that was also tied to the developer’s promises to maximize affordable housing. [Crain’s]Julie Strickland