The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is partnering with the New York Public Library and the Robin Hood Foundation to explore redevelopment opportunities at 4790 Broadway, the site of the two-story Inwood Library, The Real Deal reported. A new building would retain the existing library and 100 percent of its residential units would be designated as affordable, although the scale of the project is unclear. The city will launch a request for proposals once workshops, where community members can give input, are held later this month. The proposal will have to be approved through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
Very nice a library and residential unit. Wonder if that is a first?
Important detail — the city is not simply redeveloping within the existing R7-2 zoning, which is universal to all of Inwood’s residential areas and would allow an FAR of up to 6.5 in a building that included a large community facility like a library. That alone would have been quite large in an area that is mostly FAR 3 to 4.5 but at least would not have been outside the range of expectations or set strange new precedents. (That zoning has been in place for 50 years).
Instead, they have let slip that they are planning a ULURP, which means a rezoning. That would not be worthwhile (the lot is fairly small at 11,825 SF, maybe 15,000 SF or so if it includes the adjacent school parking lot as is rumored) unless the FAR is pushed way up and a significantly bigger building is planned. Affordable housing and libraries are all well and good, but jamming density of say FAR 8 or 9 or more onto this site is pretty jarring from an urban planning viewpoint, regardless of use.
But urban planning is not exactly the priority of this administration, is it? Their cavalier attitude towards zoning would be shocking if it were not so familiar by now. Welcome to Houston, NY!
ULURP is not only for rezoning. From the city’s ULURP website, some other actions requiring ULURP that may be in play here are: site selection for capital projects; revocable consents, requests for proposals and other solicitations or franchises, and major concessions; improvements in real property the costs of which are payable other than by the City; housing and urban renewal plans and project pursuant to city, state and federal laws; disposition of city owned property; and acquisition of real property by the city. A project of this nature requires ULURP even if the structure could be built as of right.
Thanks for the clarification Marc. I guess we will find out more at the workshops but at the announcement officials were asked point blank if they were planning a rezoning and they basically said yes if needed to fit the program, ie the result of the workshops will be that people want more affordable housing and a bigger library, which will then be used to justify a rerezoning.
The online survey for the library redevelopment is now up and asks questions like how users would feel about a “14 to 17 story building” as one option.
You can bet your original copy of the first Harry Potter that a rezoning is coming.
I known when The Real Deal reported together between the city and development, works are a bit tough but well in the end.