Central Harlem Affordable Housing Complex Moves Forward

HARLEM, NY — Construction is underway on a new building promising more than 100 units of affordable housing in Central Harlem that developers are calling an "un-gentrification project."

The 18-story, mixed-income development known as Marcus Garvey Village is being built at 212 West 124th St., near Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard.

Of its 330 apartments, half will be rented out at market rate and half will be affordable for people earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. A lottery for the affordable apartments will launch in early 2022, developers said.

Developers couldn't immediately say whether any apartments would be reserved for Harlem residents, however.

The development will also contain spaces for Community Board 10 meetings, an LGBTQ community center and a 1,000-square-foot rooftop performance area.

Construction will cost upwards of $80 million, according to developers Carthage Real Estate Advisors, a Harlem-based firm that has built more than 1,500 affordable units. The affordable component was financed by a $2 million contribution from the West Harlem Development Corporation.

Carthage bought the lot from the Abyssinian Baptist Church for $27 million in 2017. Construction broke ground in November 2020 with an estimated completion date in fall 2022.

"Our mission with Marcus Garvey Village is to create a building that celebrates the spirit of a world-renowned neighborhood," Carthage president Edward Poteat said.

"The Harlem in which I grew up has become a more generic, upscale neighborhood, largely at the expense of its artistic and colorful history. By bringing back performance spaces for local residents and places where our community’s uniqueness shines, we believe this project will set a new paradigm for development here."