[NYguy]

https://citylimits.org/2024/03/08/ci...midtown-south/

City Unveils Draft Zoning Plan to Spur 4K New Homes in Midtown South
The draft plan marks the first step toward a formal land use proposal from the city for 42 Manhattan blocks where housing is currently restricted





By Chris Janaro.
March 8, 2024

The New York Department of City Planning (DCP) unveiled its draft zoning plan for Midtown South Friday, marking the first step toward a formal land use proposal for 42 Manhattan blocks where housing is currently restricted.

The draft plan, informed by six months of community input from various stakeholders, hopes to create nearly 4,000 new homes in four “quadrants” located between 23rd and 40th streets and 5th and 8th avenues. Between 800 and 1,110 of the new units would be income-restricted, roughly 25 percent—a move to address the city’s pressing need for affording housing.

“This centrally-located, transit-rich area should be one of the most exciting, vibrant areas of the city, but outdated zoning is holding it back. Thanks to this community-focused planning approach, the future of Midtown South is looking bright,” said City Planning Director Daniel Garodnick in a news release accompanying the proposal.

In a statement, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine expressed support for the plan, emphasizing its potential to breathe new life into the neighborhood, which is home to an aging building stock and office and retail vacancies exacerbated by “shifting work patterns,” since the pandemic, the city said.

“The Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan will not only build housing that our city desperately needs, but it will also reinvigorate some of Manhattan’s most central, opportunity-rich neighborhoods,” Levine commented.

The draft plan outlines high-density, mixed-use zoning districts to accommodate a range of residential, commercial, and manufacturing uses, but would ensure new developments complement the existing “loft character of the neighborhood,” according to a press release.

Officials say even more income-restricted housing could be created in the area if combined with one of the benefits of Mayor Eric Adams’ City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, which proposes a “Universal Affordability Preference” in medium- and high-density districts like Midtown South. It would enable developers to add 20 percent more housing to a project if those additional units are permanently affordable.

https://commercialobserver.com/2024/...t-zoning-plan/

Midtown South Rezoning Could Clear the Way for 4,000 New Homes


BY ABIGAIL NEHRING
MARCH 8, 2024

New York City planning officials want to breathe new life into a 42-block area of Midtown South — and add thousands of homes to the primarily commercial neighborhood in the process.

The Department of City Planning (DCP) unveiled a draft zoning plan Friday that would allow for taller, mixed-use buildings in a swath of aging multistory lofts between Fifth and Eighth avenues.

The Midtown South Mixed-Use zoning plan could create nearly 4,000 new homes, with about a quarter of them income-restricted thanks to Mandatory Inclusionary Housing requirements DCP wants to add to the city’s zoning map, according to the agency.

“This centrally located, transit-rich area should be one of the most exciting, vibrant areas of the city, but outdated zoning is holding it back,” DCP Director Dan Garodnick said in a statement. “Thanks to this community-focused planning approach, the future of Midtown South is looking bright.”

The new zoning would be a big switch for Midtown South, which primarily has been an office hub governed by rules that prevent building new homes in the neighborhood.

A tech boom in New York City drove growth in Midtown South in the decade before the pandemic, giving the neighborhood the short-lived moniker “Silicon Alley.” But waning demand for office space and a pullback from the tech sector have taken a heavy toll, and an aging building stock dominated by exceptionally large floor plates poses particular challenges.

DCP’s plan covers four areas between West 23rd and West 40th streets that are currently home to about 7,000 businesses, the agency estimated. Current zoning rules prevent developers from adding new housing or converting buildings to residential use.

The agency’s plan will make that easier by adding new high-density, mixed-use zoning districts that allow for manufacturing, commercial and residential uses.