New affordable housing development coming to East Harlem

The City broke ground recently on One East Harlem, a housing and retail development that will bring 300 affordable units to the area.

The 19-story building, located on 201 East 125th street, will include 400 housing units, 300 of which will be affordable; 65,000 square feet of retail space, including a Food Bazaar; 10,000 square feet of public open space; and 5,000 square feet of cultural space rented to local nonprofit Groove With Me, which offers free dance classes and performance opportunities for girls.

Rents for both the market-rate and affordable units have not yet been set, but in terms of the below-market-rate units, a spokesperson for NYC’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development says that they’ll be earmarked for very low, low-, and mid-income New Yorkers. That means apartments will be available to those earning up to $95,030/year at the highest end of the spectrum.

“One East Harlem will provide much-needed affordable housing, community space, and promote economic development in El Barrio,” executive VP of NYCEDC Rachel Loeb, said in a statement. According to the EDC, the project will create nearly 300 construction and over 140 permanent jobs.

The building is part of the City’s East 125th Development Project, which aims to bring quality jobs, affordable housing, and spaces for retail and the arts to the area. One East Harlem developers include Richman Group Development Corporation, Bridges Development Group, Monadnock Development LLC., Hope Community Development Inc., and El Barrio Operation Fightback.

As we previously reported, the building sits on part of what once was the East Harlem Media, Entertainment, and Cultural Center (MEC), renamed E125 in 2015. Conceived during the Bloomberg administration, E125 faced several problems at the time, including bankruptcy and construction delays.

In 2014, the city began eminent domain proceedings for a chunk of land to incorporate in One East Harlem; it issued an RFP for a separate parcel for E125 in 2015. Local business owners objected it, but the city moved forward. Now, the building is slated to be completed by 2021.