NYC Neighborhood Gets Green Light for Vibrant Makeover

A New York City commercial real estate development plan that has been stalled for 47 years is in full swing after it won conditional approval from Manhattan’s Community District 3 Board (CB 3), allowing the redevelopment of nine city-owned sites on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Project would bring roughly 1.65 million square feet of housing, retail, and other commercial space to a site just south of the Williamsburg Bridge. Supporters of the project say it will fill a gap in the area--creating a thriving mixed-use and mixed-income development that will provide affordable housing units and retail and other commercial space.

The project, originally named the Seward Park Extension Urban Renewal Area (SPEURA), was created in 1965 with a plan for commercial and housing development. Although portions of the plan were implemented, five sites have remained undeveloped and are largely used for surface parking since demolition on the sites stopped in 1967. There have been several attempts to develop the remaining SPEURA sites over the years, but the proposals failed to move forward, in large part because of disagreements as to the best use of the sites.

The board approval is the first step in the lengthy Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. CB 3 already has objected to the use of the retail space for big-box stores, maintaining that large retailers will threaten existing small businesses and will disrupt the community’s character. The cutoff for retailers would be 30,000 square feet. However, it’s willing to make an exception for a possible supermarket in the Seward Park Project.

The community board is also insisting that the redevelopment includes a sizable affordable housing component--at least 800 units. The Bloomberg administration has agreed to commit to the permanent affordability of the housing on the site, said City Council Member Margaret Chin, in a statement. Chin represents Manhattan’s Community District 3. The city agreed to create a task force to ensure community involvement throughout the review and development process.