Two years after getting the green light on a project in Hell’s Kitchen, Hudson Companies and Housing Works received the requisite financing.
The development partners secured $104.5 million in construction financing for The Lirio at 806 Ninth Avenue in the Manhattan neighborhood, the Commercial Observer reported. Webster Bank provided a pair of loans totaling $62 million, while the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development handed over $42.4 million.
The financing supports the long-awaited construction of a 112-unit mixed-use property. All but 13 of the units will be designated for low-income housing, some of which are specifically reserved for either formerly homeless individuals or those living with HIV or AIDS; Housing Works is a nonprofit dedicated to combating homelessness and AIDS.
The Lirio will also have 44,000 square feet of office space — 30,000 of which is earmarked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority — and 7,200 square feet of retail space. Construction is expected to wrap in 2026.
It’s been a long journey to develop the nine-story, 129,000-square-foot project.
The city started considering a redevelopment of the site in 2009 after the City Council approved the Hudson Yards plan, four years following the neighborhood’s rezoning. The project stalled for close to a decade until HPD issued a request for proposals in 2018.
In 2019, HPD tapped Hudson to develop the site, a parking lot utilized by the MTA. Another three years passed before the City Council approved the controversial project, which faced some community opposition.
Since taking the reins in 2011, David Kramer has turned Hudson into one of the city’s most active developers, particularly in affordable housing. Last month, the firm secured $135 million in construction financing from Santander and an affiliate of Related Companies for a nine-story, 328 apartment project in Crown Heights.