PHOTOS: NYC Unveils Plans for Essex Crossing Project Including Andy Warhol Museum and More!

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today unveiled plans that will transform the largest stretch of undeveloped City-owned land in Manhattan below 96th Street into vibrant, mixed-use space in one of New York's most dynamic, diverse and historic neighborhoods. Nine sites located near the intersection of Essex Street and Delancey Street will become a 1.65-million-square-foot development anchored by 1,000 units of housing, half of which will be permanently affordable for low-, moderate-, and middle-income households and senior citizens. In addition, the project, to be called Essex Crossing, includes a 15,000-square-foot open space, a new and expanded Essex Street Market, a dual-generation school operated by the Educational Alliance, a community center run by Grand Street Settlement, a rooftop urban farm, the Andy Warhol Museum, 250,000 square feet of office space and a diverse mix of retail space. Seward Park will also become a hub of small-business incubation, with micro-retail spaces and creative and tech co-working and incubator space. The project represents $1.1 billion dollars of investment by Delancey Street Associates LLC, a joint venture comprised of L+M Development Partners, BFC Partners, and Taconic Investment Partners, and will create approximately 1,600 permanent jobs and 4,400 construction jobs....

The project will create a vibrant mixed-income community anchored by new market-rate and permanently affordable income-limited housing; offering both rental and homeownership opportunities. There will be a total of 1,000 new rental apartments and condominium units with 500 units being permanently affordable. 50 percent of the four of the largest sites will be permanently affordable to low-, moderate- and middle-income households. The Project will include 100 units of permanently affordable rental units for low- and moderate-income senior citizens that will be operated in partnership with Grand Street Settlement, a local multi-service agency dedicated to providing essential programs for community members of all ages. The project will also include homeownership opportunities, with 20 percent of the condo units being affordable to moderate-income households. The project's affordable units will be targeted to New Yorkers, including senior citizens, with household incomes ranging on average from $31,700 to $133,000 per year for a family of four.

Entertainment amenities at Seward Park include a bowling alley and movie theater. The dual-generation school run by local partner Educational Alliance will offer Head Start and Adult Education programs, and the community center operated by Grand Street Alliance will provide early childhood and senior services. The 64,000 square feet dedicated to these facilities is permanently deeded as community space. A site has also been reserved for a public school, which may be developed in the future by the School Construction Authority. The developers will also upgrade the existing DOT plazas on Delancey Street. Check out the renderings below!

The Essex Street Market will relocate across Delancey Street, doubling in size to approximately 30,000 square feet on the ground floor, plus a mezzanine of roughly 7,000 square feet. The new market, anticipated to open in 2018, will accommodate all the existing market vendors at the time of the move and provide room for new vendors in a range of sizes. The project will include an extensive assortment of retail and commercial uses, including the unique space to be known as the Market Line, on a concourse created through vaulted archways from the second floor through the cellar of the three sites south of Delancey between Essex and Clinton Streets. The natural light-filled, continuous Market Line will include a variety of spaces, consisting of small- to medium-sized vendor stalls with tenants that include retail and food-oriented uses,a culinary incubator and a center dedicated to encouraging entrepreneurs to learn craft skills and produce and sell hand-made merchandise. In addition, approximately 40 micro-retail spaces will be developed in the Market Line. The project also includes a large grocery store, an amenity that was strongly urged by the community to fill a critical local need. Other than the grocery store, movie theater and fitness center, no retail space will be larger than 30,000 square feet - a key community priority.

As the project is located along the F train corridor, which continues to grow as a tech corridor, connecting downtown Brooklyn, Dumbo, the Lower East Side and the new Applied Sciences campus on Roosevelt Island, the 250,000 square-feet of office space will be ideally located to capitalize on growing innovative markets. The new office workers will bring daytime traffic to the neighborhood, supporting local businesses throughout the day...

The anticipated groundbreaking for the project is spring 2015. The first five buildings (all of the sites south of Delancey except the two adjacent sites between Norfolk and Clinton Streets) consisting of 580 units of housing, including 316 permanently affordable units, are anticipated to be completed by Summer 2018. The next two buildings (the remaining parcels south of Delancey, and the parcel located just north of Rivington Street on Essex Street), including the majority of the remaining housing, are anticipated to be completed by summer 2021, and the final two buildings (the remaining parcels north of Delancey Street) are anticipated to be completed by 2022 and 2024.

Delancey Street Associates LLC (DSA) is comprised of affordable housing developers L+M Development Partners and BFC Partners, and Taconic Investment Partners. The Prusik Group will co-develop the retail portion of the project. Senior housing developers B&B Supportive Housing will co-develop the senior building. DSA will work closely with local community partners Grand Street Settlement and Educational Alliance on the community center and dual-generation school, respectively. SHoP and Beyer Blinder Belle will be the primary architects on the Seward Park Project.

Seward Park's affordable housing will have a preference for income-eligible former residents of the Seward Park Extension Urban Renewal area who may no longer reside in the Community District. Former residents should compile any official documents that reflect their residence within the boundaries of the Urban Renewal Area for the years before site acquisition. This will be the first step for attaining housing opportunities for which they may be qualified.