With the growth rate of one- and two-person households outpacing larger families in New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced an innovative 55 micro-unit proposal as the winner of the adAPT NYC competition.
The development team of Monadnock Development LLC, Actors Fund Housing Development Corp., and nARCHITECTS will build its My Micro NY project on a city-owned site in Manhattan. Forty percent of the units will be available to low- and middle-income residents.
My Micro NY will be the first multi-unit building in Manhattan developed using modular construction, with the modules prefabricated locally by Capsys at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
adAPT NYC is a pilot program to develop a new model of housing—micro-units. The proposals were evaluated on several criteria, including innovative layout and building design. The My Micro NY proposal excelled with generous 9-foot to 10-foot floor-to-ceiling heights and Juliette balconies that provide substantial access to light and air. The micro-units developed as part of this pilot will measure between 250 and 370 square feet. The project is expected to break ground at the end of this year.
The competition was created to introduce additional housing options to accommodate the city’s growing population of one- and two-person households. Currently New York City has 1.8 million one- and two-person households, but only 1 million studios and one-bedrooms. The city’s housing codes have not kept up with its changing population and currently do not allow an entire building of micro-units. Under this pilot program, the city will waive certain zoning regulations at the 335 East 27th St. site to test the market for this new housing model.
The contest generated 33 proposals by the submission deadline—making this the largest response received by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for a housing project.
