HELL'S KITCHEN — A city-owned parking lot a block from the Hudson River could become an affordable housing tower, if Community Board 4 gets its way.
The board said the Eleventh Avenue lot, which stretches between West 39th and West 40th Streets, should be built into 322 affordable units.
The building should "avoid looking like [a] dystopian glass box," according to a letter to the city's Economic Development Corporation and Department of Housing Preservation & Development approved by the board Wednesday.
"There was unanimity from both community and MCB4 members that a 100 percent permanently affordable building should be developed on the site," the letter said.
"With rising rents in the Hell's Kitchen/Clinton neighborhood and the increase of high-end market rate residential units threatening the economic diversity of the district, the need for 100 percent affordability on a city-owned site is considered crucial."
The majority of apartments should be two- and three-bedroom units, and spots should be made available to a range of affordable incomes, the board said. The tower should max out at 45 floors, they said.
The board also suggested a roof deck and an affordable fresh market for the building. The recommendations are included in a request for proposals to develop the site, which was once the slaughterhouse of the New York Butchers' Dressed Meat Company. The lot is currently used as a parking lot for the police department, the letter said.
HPD said they planned to issue a competitive request for proposals for the project that included affordable housing and commercial space and that they would take community input into account.
EDC said they saw saw the site as holding potential for a mixed-use, mixed-income development containing affordable housing.
The board also discussed plans for a 38-story building at 515 W. 36th St. which will include 50 units of affordable housing out of 250 total units.
