Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday revealed his update to former mayor Michael Bloomberg’s sustainability initiative PlaNYC, and his vision included several real estate-related ideas.
De Blasio redefined sustainability to include not just environmental improvements but also ways of managing the rising population. The plan calls for 250,000 to 300,000 units of affordable housing to be built between 2025 and 2040, on top of the 240,000 that his administration has already pledged to see built by then, according to Capital New York.
Additionally, the document calls for the establishment of a regional planning unit that will work with other municipalities in the Metropolitan region on long-term planning goals, including handling population growth, and analyzing economic trends and changes in land-use.
De Blasio also said he will work to encourage live-work arrangements. “With a focus on alleviating barriers to entrepreneurship and business-to-business or business-to-customer interaction, we are completing a study to identify new real estate development concepts that allow for live-work arrangements such as live-work apartments, live-work buildings, or live-work districts,” the document says.
The plan seems to echo plans already in action by companies like WeWork and Prodigy Network to combine shared living spaces with TAMI offices.
While some complained that the plan seems to lack specifics, de Blasio assured reporters that more detail would come when his capital budget is announced next month. [Capital NY] — Tess Hofmann