Plans were recently approved for 198-208 Richmond Terrace, a 14-story mixed-use residential building in St. George, Staten Island. Designed by ZArchitecture and developed by ZHL Group, the structure will yield 117 rental units with an average scope of 744 square feet, of which 30 will be permanently affordable apartments. The project will also include roughly 10,100 square feet of ground-floor community facility space, and off-street accessory parking. The sloped property is located near the corner of Richmond Terrace and Nicholas Street.
The rendering previews a symmetrical massing with setbacks on either end of the tenth floor that step upward until reaching the final story at the center of the main elevation. The façade is depicted composed of a mix of beige brick and black metal paneling surrounding windows with black mullions and glass doors leading to numerous balconies across the entire front face. The building will culminate in a landscaped roof deck and a short bulkhead.
The abutting structure shown to the east of 198-208 Richmond Terrace is another proposed residential building designed by FXCollaborative that is also pending approval.
The site is currently occupied by two unoccupied residential buildings that will require demolition. ZHL Group purchased the property for $4.88 million in early 2021.
198-208 Richmond Terrace, circa November 2024. Image via Google Maps.
The development team put forward a rezoning application for the project earlier this year. Despite receiving initial praise from Staten Island’s Community Board 1, the project was unanimously denied due to concerns about the low figure of just four on-site parking spaces. CB1 subsequently proposed the alternative option of redeveloping the site of an abandoned parking garage directly across Richmond Terrace in partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). This plan would require the partial reduction in the scope of the development to remain fully within the boundaries of the Special St. George District, a pedestrian-oriented commercial corridor surrounding the nearby St. George Ferry Terminal to the east.
Fast forward to last week, where Majority Whip Kamillah Hanks of NYC Council District 49 announced the approval of the project, which is part of the City Council’s simultaneous approval of more than 3,200 homes across all five boroughs of New York City, including around 1,700 income-restricted affordable units, to address the ongoing affordability crisis.
A construction timeline for 198-208 Richmond Terrace awaits to be announced.
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great as long as the rest of these important developments are also approved and built. piecemeal doesn’t cut it in staten for making an impact. this is prime waterfront facing development land and it should be built up just like around the city and nj waterfront is.