HARLEM — The city has struck a deal to build 38 affordable housing units on a formerly deed-restricted plot of land.
The area, formerly owned by the Dance Theatre of Harlem at 152nd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, will be developed by BRP Companies.
Earlier this year, The Department of Citywide Administrative Services accepted $875,000 from the developer in exchange for lifting the deed restriction, which had been in place since 1976 and ruled it could only be used for cultural groups.
The developer bought the lot for $3.1 million. They also made a financial contribution to one of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s political causes, the New York Times reported. BRP Companies did not respond to a request for comment.
The developer plans to offer 30 of the apartments to people making 60 percent of the area median income, one at 50 percent and seven at 40 percent, officials said. The 32,470-square-foot development will also have a ground floor space for a dance theater.
The development is among 10 housing projects the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development funded with $15 million in federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
About $1.4 million is allocated for the Harlem project. The city also plans to allocate about $1.9 million in tax credits for a developer to rehab 114 rental units at several apartment buildings in Central and West Harlem.
"This award means affordable homes for working families and studio space for the Dance Theatre of Harlem," said Vicki Been, the HPD commissioner.
"We are working to keep our communities strong and this important tax credit award helps us do that."
Earlier this year, the city controversially lifted deed restrictions on the AIDS nursing home Rivington House on the Lower East Side, which paved the way for the building to be sold to developers planning luxury condos for a $72 million profit.
