The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the city’s Housing Development Corp., and New York Public Library have announced plans for the creation of 175 deeply affordable apartments paired with a new public library in Upper Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood.
In addition to the housing and renewed three-level lnwood Library, The Eliza—named after Eliza Hamilton, the wife of founding father Alexander Hamilton and an early supporter of the Inwood Library—will include community space through the on-site Activities, Culture, Training (ACTS) Center for education, health, wellness, job training, and cultural programs as well as a Pre-K for All facility that will be operated by the New York City Department of Education. Fogarty Finger Architecture and Andrew Berman Architect are the designers of the development.
Developed by a joint venture between the Community League of the Heights (CLOTH), Ranger Properties, and The Children’s Village, and Alembic, the 14-story building will provide a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units; an on-site gym, a resident lounge; a children’s playroom; a terrace; a roof garden; a bike room; and a laundry room.
The development will serve extremely low-, very low-, and low-income households with income caps set between $20,040 and $40,080 for individuals and between $34,360 and $51,540 for a family of three. Over 20% of the units will be affordable to a family of three earning less than $26,000, and units will be set aside for formerly homeless households.
The housing will be financed under mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York plan under the Extremely Low and Low-Income Affordability program. The site is subject to the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program, which will guarantee that approximately 25% to 30% of the homes will be permanently affordable. HPD will guarantee future control of the land through a legal tool that will give the city ownership at the end of the initial affordability period, unless the owner agrees to extend the affordability.
The library will be financed through capital funding from HPD and a $5 million grant from the Robin Hood Foundation. While maintaining the library’s existing services, such as early literacy and story-time programs, technology classes, and bilingual resources, additional space will be provided for computers, classes, and community needs. The community will continue to have access to temporary library space during construction.
“Through Housing New York, we strive to pair affordable housing development with the dynamic community spaces that neighborhoods need to thrive,” says HPD commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. “The Eliza—fittingly named for one of the earliest supporters of the Inwood Library and a champion of literacy and education—weds deeply affordable homes with a beautifully redesigned library and a new pre-K facility that will benefit the Inwood neighborhood for generations to come.”
