Excavation Underway for Lirio At 364 West 54th Street in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan

Excavation and pilings are underway for Lirio, a nine-story all-affordable housing building at 364 West 54th Street in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. Designed by CetraRuddy Architecture and developed by The Hudson Companies in collaboration with Housing Works, and supported by the New York City Department of Housing and Preservation and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), the structure will yield 112 permanently affordable units, nearly 30,000 square feet of office space for the MTA, and ground-floor retail space along Ninth Avenue. The property is alternately addressed as 806 Ninth Avenue and is situated at the intersection of Ninth Avenue and West 54th Street.

Recent photographs show several excavators and a piling machines working just below street level with a portion of the land partially dug out. Below-grade work should continue through the rest of the fall and upcoming winter months. Work first broke ground in mid-July.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Renderings show the building clad in a red brick envelope with an irregular grid of windows grouped horizontally in protruding metal frames and separated by rust-hued metal paneling. A wraparound setback at the seventh story and another setback on the ninth story of the northern elevation are shown topped with terraces featuring what appears to be grass surfacing. An additional setback at the southwestern corner of the ninth floor will feature what looks to be an urban garden. The building culminates in a flat parapet with a set of photovoltaic panels alongside bulkheads enclosed in a metal screen.

Rendering of The Lirio. Designed by CetraRuddy

Sixty-seven of the 112 homes will be designated as supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals, including long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS. The development team secured a $119 million financing package in March that originated from a variety of sources including Webster Bank, Merchants Capital, and Red Stone Equity Partners, alongside city funding, with contributions from Council Member Erik Bottcher and Borough President Mark Levine.

“The Lirio is named after the Liriodendron tree, the oldest living thing in NYC and a testament to not only surviving but thriving in the face of life’s challenges,” said Andrew Coamey, senior vice president for housing, Housing Works and executive director of Bailey House. “With a record number of our fellow New Yorkers facing the seemingly endless challenges of being homeless or significantly rent burdened, Housing Works is excited to be part of developing a brand-new building in the heart of New York City that will offer families and individuals, including long-term survivors of HIV, a safe, beautiful, affordable, and amenity filled home. We hope The Lirio will serve as a model of what can be achieved when housing developers, city government and agencies, along with communities like Hell’s Kitchen, work together to provide solutions to those challenges.”

The nearest subways from the development are the C and E trains at the 50th Street station along Eighth Avenue.

Lirio is targeting Passive House standards and LEED Gold certification and will participate in the NYSERDA Multifamily Performance Program. Completion is slated for November 2026, as noted on site.

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