The first residential project that will receive Liberty Bond funding put in place following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was approved by the city’s Housing Development Corporation last month.
The $82 million project at 90 Washington Street is expected to have 368 studio and 30 one-bedroom apartments.
The first approval comes a year and a half after the program was started to revitalize Lower Manhattan. The bonds are not taxed, allowing developers to borrow at cheaper rates. The federal Liberty Bond program has about $1.6 billion designated for residential construction.
During a recent meeting, the Housing Development Corporation Board also gave preliminary approval to six other projects. They include three conversions and three new construction projects.
The conversion projects include remaking a 22-story office building at 10 Hanover Square into residential use, including some office space, by developer The Witkoff Group, conversion of 3/9 Beekman Street into residential use with retail at ground level by Cammeby’s Management Company, Inc. and conversion of thirty floors at 233 Broadway into residential use by both Cammeby and Witkoff.
The new construction projects include a 468,000 square foot building with residential units and commercial space on West Street, between Chambers and Warren, to be developed by Jack Resnick & Sons, Inc., construction of a 35-story residential use building at 63 Wall Street by NB 63 Wall Street LLC, and new construction of a 32-story building including residential rental, retail and commercial space at the northwest corner of William Street and Beaver Street by 15 William, LLC.
The recent decisions by the Housing Development Corporation board have not been without critics, however. The Liberty Bond Housing Coalition and Good Jobs New York, among other groups, have testified that federal resources earmarked for lower Manhattan should not be used to develop luxury housing, and should provide more affordable units. They point out that the approved 90 Washington Street project has no affordable units, though the developer is paying a three percent fee to build affordable housing elsewhere in New York City.
‘Today, in the midst of excessive unemployment and homelessness in our city, it is unbelievable to think that public officials are not doing everything in their power to assist those in need,” said Bettina Damiani, Project Director for Good Jobs New York and a member of the Liberty Bond Housing Coalition.
“Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg have turned their back on working and poor New Yorkers by insisting Sept. 11 resources be used for the development of luxury housing. Unless officials change course, all of downtown is poised to become a zone of exclusion.”