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Only 3 Apartments in New 22-Story Midtown Building Will be Affordable

By Noah Hurowitz | January 13, 2016 2:12pm
 The city has approved permits to demolish the buildings at 230-232 E. 54th St. to make way for a planned 22-story mixed-use building in which the developer hopes to include below-market-rate units.
The city has approved permits to demolish the buildings at 230-232 E. 54th St. to make way for a planned 22-story mixed-use building in which the developer hopes to include below-market-rate units.
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DNAInfo/Noah Hurowitz

MIDTOWN EAST — A new 22-story residential building slated to rise on East 54th Street will include just three below-market apartments out of at total of 75 units, according to the developer.

The new development planned for 230-232 E. 54th St. between Second and Third avenues will include the minimum number of affordable units required to qualify for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s inclusionary housing program, according to the developer of the project.

The neighborhood’s zoning limits the height of new buildings to 210 feet, but the inclusion of the three below-market-rate units would allow the developers to increase the building’s floor-area ratio and build as high as 237 feet.

In order to qualify for the program, the developer — Kevin Lalezarian, who's working on the project with owner Elias Kalimian of the Manhattan real estate firm Elk Investors — must pledge 2,800 square feet of affordable housing space.

The affordable units will include two two-bedroom apartments on the third and fourth floors and one one-bedroom apartment on the 16th floor, according to plans filed with HPD.

But by the time it hits the market, the building could end up with more affordable units if the developer applies for a 421-A tax abatement, which would call for a total of between 17 and 21 affordable units, including those under the inclusionary housing program.

During a presentation to Community Board 6's housing committee on Tuesday evening, Lalezarian confirmed the developers are considering applying for 421-A, which gives tax breaks to developers for creating affordable apartments. 

But he added that the future of the 421-A program is uncertain as lawmakers, lobbyists and labor unions wrangle over a deal to extend the tax break, and the developers of 230-232 E. 54th St. are waiting to apply for the tax break until the dust settles on those negotiations and they have a better idea of what the program entails, Lalezarian.

If approved by the city, the new building will replace a pair of five-story turn-of-the-century walkups. The Department of Buildings gave the go-ahead for their demolition in October, records show.

HPD is still reviewing the project's inclusionary housing application, and the new building still needs approval from the DOB.