$38M Deal Closed To Turn Illegal UWS Hotel Into Supportive Housing

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A $38 million deal was announced this week to turn a former illegal Upper West Side hotel into supportive housing for adults with a history of chronic homelessness and other challenges.

Rockabill Development, along with the community nonprofit Goddard Riverside, announced on Tuesday that they have closed on a deal to turn 235 W. 107th St., between Broadway and Amsterdam, into supportive housing.

“As a longtime representative and resident of the Upper West Side, I know how much we need additional housing for people living on the street," local Council Member Gale Brewer said in a news release.

The building was previously used as an illegal hotel called The Morningside Inn, which was bought by Rockabill and Goddard Riverside in 2021.

The new housing will remain classified as an SRO. It is slated to open in late 2024 or early 2025.

The six-story building was constructed in 1912 and has 84 individual units that will be reconfigured so that each has a private bathroom. The reallocation of the space will bring the number of units down to 68.

Each floor of the building will be outfitted with two communal kitchens and dining areas, which will be shared between six or seven tenants. The first floor and cellar will also be renovated to create a community room and a dedicated space for case management and social services.

Other building rehabilitation work will include elevator modernization, exterior facade repair, carpet repair and replacement, and energy efficient measures.

Construction is expected to begin in April.

"This is not a shelter," Roderick Jones, executive director of Goddard Riverside Community Center, told Community Board 7 in a meeting on Tuesday. "This is permanent housing with supportive services.”