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New York

Hochul eyes affordable housing at shuttered Harlem prison

RFP issued for 10K sf site with Central Park views

Governor Kathy Hochul, 31-33 West 110th Street in Harlem (Getty, Google Maps)
Governor Kathy Hochul, 31-33 West 110th Street in Harlem (Getty, Google Maps)

UPDATED, March 21, 11:50 a.m.: Four years after a prison closure in West Harlem, the state appears ready to move forward with redeveloping the site with affordable housing.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a request for proposals to redevelop the Lincoln Correctional Facility at 31-33 West 110th Street, Crain’s reported. The 10,000-square-foot site is not in use.

The property dates back more than a century, when it opened as the Young Women’s Hebrew Association for immigrants. It then served as an Army rest area, then a school before becoming a minimum security prison in 1976, which closed in 2019.

Empire State Development is accepting proposals for the site until May 23.

When the prison closed due to underuse, developers began salivating at the chance to redevelop the property. The site has frontage along Central Park, a rare opportunity for developers. At the time of the closure, brokers floated rentals or luxury condos; the state is trying to maximize affordable housing.

Then Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer wanted to keep things relatively status quo in West Harlem, eyeing the facility as a women’s jail for those being relocated from Rikers Island.

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The state’s request for the former Lincoln Correctional Facility mirrors its moves at the Bayview Correctional Facility in West Chelsea. The Empire State Development Corporation last year said it would solicit proposals for the redevelopment of the closed facility into supportive housing, including at least 60 units.

Hochul has been making a big push towards building more housing in the state to ease a crunch, specifically at the affordable price point. She has set a goal of adding 800,000 housing units in the next decade.

Her plan targets 3 percent growth in housing stock every three years for downstate localities and 1 percent for those upstate. In calculating growth, more weight is given to affordable housing and rehabbed units.

— Holden Walter-Warner

Correction: An earlier version of this story said the state had issued a request for proposals for the Bayview Correctional Facility in West Chelsea. Officials announced the opening last year, but expect to open proposals in the coming months.

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