Essex Crossing’s first affordable housing lottery has launched

The redevelopment of the former Seward Park Urban Renewal Area, now known as Essex Crossing, has been in the works for more than half a century, but it won’t be too long before residents will begin to call it home. Sales at 242 Broome Street, also known as site 1, launched last fall, and as of today the megaproject’s first affordable rentals have entered the NYC affordable housing lottery.

The affordable apartments in question are in the Beyer Blinder Belle-designed building at 145 Clinton Street, also known as site 5. Of its 211 rentals, 104 will be affordable, with studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments up for grabs. The lottery is open to several income brackets, from those making 40 percent of the area median income to those making 165 percent of the AMI; the most units are available for those making 60 percent of the AMI, or between $30,069 and $63,060 per year (depending on family size). The apartments will range from $519 for a studio at the low end, to $3,424 for a three-bedroom at the high end.

And in keeping with the promises made to former area residents, tenants who previously lived in what became the Seward Park Extension Urban Renewal Area (SPEURA) will be given priority for these apartments, along with residents of Manhattan CB3.

The building itself will have a Trader Joe’s—the Lower East Side’s first—on the ground floor, along with a Planet Fitness. Amenities for residents will include a communal lounge, a yoga room, a dog-washing room, and a children’s playroom. It’s all due to open by 2017.

When all is said and done, Essex Crossing will have 561 affordable apartments spread across multiple buildings, with an additional 517 market-rate units. Those apartments will be joined by a multitude of amenities—a public park, a movie theater, a 150,000-square-foot bazaar called the Market Line—aimed at both residents of the megaproject along with the larger Lower East Side community.

For more details on the site 5 affordable lottery, head right this way.

• 145 Clinton Street [NYC Housing Connect]
• Essex Crossing will now come with more affordable housing [Curbed]
• All Essex Crossing coverage [Curbed]