Construction On Massive E Harlem Development Begins This Summer

EAST HARLEM, NY — Developers have finalized funding for a massive East Harlem development that was tied to the neighborhood's rezoning and expect to begin construction this summer, according to city officials and developers.

Developers L+M Development Partners, Jonathan Rose Companies and Acacia Network secure $233 million to build the first part of the Sendero Verde development that will occupy an entire formerly city-owned block that spans East 111th and 112th streets between Madison and Park avenues. The funding comes from both public and private sources such as construction loans from the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the city Housing Development Corporation, City Council funding, grant funding from the state and a letter of credit from Bank of America.

Construction on the first phase of the Sendero Verde development is expected to be completed in 2022. The first phase of the project will include 361 apartments, all of which will be offered at below-market rates. Of those units, 30% will be reserved for households the city defines as "extremely low income" and 10% will be reserved for people who have experienced homelessness, city officials said.

The entire Sendero Verde development is expected to bring nearly 700 units of below-market housing to the full-block site. None of the housing will be offered at market rents. The development will also include a charter school, a YMCA facility, a health-foods market and community spaces including nonprofit offices and a Mount Sinai community health center.

The block was previously occupied by four community gardens and a baseball field, according to the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The gardens will be preserved and integrated into the development, according to the HPD.

The City Council approved applications for zoning and land use variances to construct the Sendero Verde when it passed a sweeping rezoning of East Harlem in November 2017. The plan as a whole is expected to spur the construction of 1,288 affordable housing units on the neighborhood's private development sites, but opponents believe an increase of market-rate housing will lead to gentrification and displacement of the neighborhood's long-term tenants.

Developers filed plans to build at the site in June 2018 and then again for a second building in Feb. 2019. The entire Sendero Verde development will be made up by three buildings, according to city officials and renderings from Handel Architects.