November 19, 2020

By Eddie Small (Read the article in Crain's)

One of the largest projects on its way to Gowanus will now consist entirely of affordable housing, according to the city.

Gowanus Green, designed to contain about 950 units across six buildings, has been in the works for more than a decade. The project had been planned to be split between 74% affordable apartments and 26% market-rate units.

At least half of the project’s apartments will be for households earning less than half of area median income—about $51,200 for a family of three—and 15% will be for the formerly homeless, the city said. A maximum of 40% of apartments will be for families earning 80% to 120% of area median income—about $81,920 to $122,880 for a family of three. The project also will include senior-citizen and supportive housing, as well as opportunities for affordable homeownership, the city said.

Local City Councilman Brad Lander, who has been pushing for more affordable housing in the neighborhood, said he is pleased that the city and developers behind Gowanus Green are upping their commitment.

“With 100% affordability, Gowanus Green will provide 950 new below-market-rate homes in an area that currently offers none,” Lander said in a statement.

The project is located at an empty city-owned site at Smith and Fifth streets, by the Gowanus Canal. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development issued a request for proposals for the site in 2007 and the following year selected a development team composed of the Bluestone Organization, the Fifth Avenue Committee, the Hudson Cos. and the Jonathan Rose Cos.

Gowanus has undergone a flurry of real estate activity ahead of its anticipated rezoning, with Watermark Capital, Avery Hall Investments and other developers filing plans for projects this fall. The rezoning has been in the works for years, and although the pandemic has stalled the effort, Deputy Mayor Vicki Been recently announced the city would restart the community-engagement process and seek to start the land-use review project in January.

“Gowanus Green helps realize the city’s commitment to fair housing and equitable growth at a moment when safe, affordable housing and public open space is more important than ever,” Been said in a statement.

The rezoning could bring 20,000 residents to Gowanus, along with 5,000 new units of market-rate housing and 3,000 new units of affordable housing.

A major point of contention has been whether the Gowanus and Wyckoff public housing developments will receive funding for upgrades under the rezoning.

Overall the effort has so far attracted less resistance and controversy than other recent rezoning attempts.

Multiple city officials described Gowanus Green as key to the rezoning. HPD Commissioner Louise Carroll described it as anchoring the neighborhood plan, and city Planning Director Marisa Lago said it will be “the centerpiece of an even better Gowanus.”

The project will feature 28,000 square feet of retail and community space, an 80,000-square-foot public school and a public park spanning 1.5 acres, the city said. The community space likely will include programming for senior citizens and space for artists.

The city restored $466 million worth of cuts to HPD’s budget last month in an effort to support New York’s economic recovery and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s goal of building and preserving 300,000 affordable housing units by 2026. The New York Housing Conference estimated that the money would finance about 11,000 units of affordable housing for fiscal year 2021.