Designing multi-family homes to suit emerging neighborhoods.

As previously untapped areas in New York City are becoming sought after by would-be homeowners, a new trend is emerging in these revitalized neighborhoods: a clear shift away from affordable housing to luxury market-rate projects. This change is permeating areas once considered marginal for even subsidized ventures.

Sometimes, as the neighborhood transforms, the design of a project that is already under way needs to be adjusted to reflect the area's new character. The New York City office of GreenbergFarrow is involved in several residential projects in the same neighborhood, and our design teams have experienced this phenomenon first hand.

In Harlem, GreenbergFarrow has been awarded a trio of projects by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), developed through their Cornerstone Program. The three projects, The Langston (also known as Site 6), The Hamilton (Site 7) and Site 8 (in the pre-development stage), are being co-developed by The Richman Group Development Corporation and Gotham Organization, Inc., and built by Gotham Construction Company, LLC. Sites 6 and 7 are located on 145th Street and Bradhurst Avenue, and Site 8 is further south on St. Nicholas between West 127th and 128th Streets.

The Hamilton, which did not require the lengthy ULURP process, was the first project to move into design and construction. Developed as a cooperative residence offering home ownership to people with moderate incomes, The Hamilton totals more than 100,000 square feet, including 77 apartments on seven levels, and two floors of retail and parking. The project was a huge success, with more than 3,000 applications received for the 76 available units.

GreenbergFarrow's second project in the area, The Langston at 68 Bradhurst Avenue is currently under construction. This 235,000-square-foot building features 180 condominium apartments, approximately 38,000-square feet of retail space and below-grade parking. In addition to offering home ownership to individuals with moderate incomes, The Langston will also offer 59 luxury market rate units and will feature stone kitchen countertops, elegant wood floors, marble master baths, private terraces in select units, and park and city views. Building features and amenities will include 24-hour concierge, a state-of-the-art fitness facility, broadband wiring, residents' terrace, and valet for dry cleaning and tailoring services, and is located across the street from Jackie Robinson Park and just steps from River State Park. The Langston is being marketed by Halstead Property Development Marketing and is slated to begin sales of the 59 market units in Spring 2006. The Langston has received over 9,000 applications.

The evolution of The Langston's design represents the transition of a neighborhood and the speed and momentum of the market transformation particularly well.

Due to the shift in the residential market, and especially the Harlem market, The Richman Group/Gotham Organization decided that a change in the residential program was needed, even as design was well under way.

Originally conceived as a condop with moderate-income cooperative apartments situated above a retail base, the program was rethought as a conventional condominium. However, in order to satisfy HPD and City requirements, the building would be tiered to provide not only market-rate but also both moderate and lower-income level housing.

As design of The Langston proceeded, GreenbergFarrow pushed the structural envelope of typical loadbearing construction to provide window areas usually seen in more expensive flat plate construction and a product that resembled Downtown market-rate development, rather than affordable housing.

But the switch to a three-tiered condominium presented a new level of complexity to the project--how do you adequately distinguish such a mix of products within a single building? Since apartment unit planning was too far along for significant reconsideration, the decision was to focus on upgrading finishes, fixtures, appliances, and other unit amenities, and to increase ceiling heights in floors containing predominately market-rate apartments.

One portion of the design--the top two floors above a required setback--could be reconsidered at the last minute without compromising the schedule.

GreenbergFarrow suggested a switch from duplex units to units facing the street and opening onto the setbacks; a move that resulted in the creation of a series of 13 spectacular penthouse duplex units, including 18 foot double-height living rooms enclosed in window walls that provide a distinctive and signature element for the project. Aside from the decision to change the design well into the process, this project presented several architectural challenges.

An irregular site with steep topography was just the beginning, the mixed-use program of retail, parking and apartments and a requirement for load-bearing construction that tends to limit architectural flexibility required some fancy footwork.

Moreover, the site was saddled with a split zoning that divided the property down the middle, resulting in an irregular and inefficient massing for development. The existing zoning also came with a commercial overlay that limited retail development to select categories on a single level.

As Site 6 did require a ULURP action, GreenbergFarrow and the development team worked in cooperation with the New York City Department of Planning and HPD to include a rezoning to a single district that would substantially improve residential development options and allow retail uses on two levels--crucial to taking advantage of the steeply sloped site.

It's clear that boundaries of desirable residential neighborhoods will keep expanding into the near future. Designers and architects working on projects in these transition areas should be flexible and be prepared to change plans according to a neighborhood's shifting character. Even seemingly minor changes, such as altering the finishes or amenities, can go a long way in attracting a new crowd of residents and improving a developer's bottom line.

Navid Maqami AIA 

GreenbergFarrow