Olnick to offer up new park space, renovations to get Lenox Terrace approval

The Olnick Organization is prepared to offer Lenox Terrace tenants several perks in a bid to win approval for its massive expansion of the property.

Olnick wants to launch a city approval process by the end of the year to win the right to build five new towers on the Harlem site, and as part of a tenant benefits agreement the company aims to negotiate, officials would renovate existing apartments, build new park space and give current tenants access to several amenities in the new buildings, such as roof terraces and gyms, according to Crain’s.

Lenox Terrace occupies 12.4 acres in Harlem, where it is bounded by West 132nd and 135th streets and Malcolm X Boulevard and Fifth Avenue. Olnick’s plans for the residential complex expanded earlier this year and now include more than 1,600 new apartments across five buildings, along with an extra 40,000 square feet of retail space and 15,000 square feet of community space. The company will have 30 percent of space in the new towers be for affordable housing.

Olnick has had trouble winning over Lenox Terrace tenants in the past. A 2014 survey found that most tenants opposed expanding the complex, and they accused the company in 2015 of illegally raising rents despite a city-wide freeze on stabilized units. [Crain’s] – Eddie Small