Castellan is currently in contract to buy the site, according to the firm’s vice president of acquisitions, Etan Slomovic. He added that he expects the sale to close in February. He wouldn’t specify the purchase price of the property, but said that the site has been in the same hands since the 1980s.
The roughly 21,000-square-foot project is part of the city’s inclusionary housing program, Slomovic said, and 19 of the 20 studios in the building — one per floor — will be affordable and one unit in the building will be market rate. Slomovic said Castellan has been wanting to build affordable housing for a while.
Ten of the units in the building will be around 410 square feet and 10 will be around 750 square feet, according to the developer.
A 162-square-foot commercial unit is planned for the ground floor of the building, Slomovic said. Castellan owns about 60 multi-family buildings in the city and surrounding area. This is the firm’s first ground-up development.
Kossar + Garry Architects, the firm also responsible for the Chelsea Arts Tower on West 25th Street, is designing the project and Flatiron Real Estate Advisors is marketing it.
