‘A Little More Housing’ in Midtown South: City Kicks Off Rezoning to Create 10,000 New Homes

The goal is to bring more New Yorkers to one of the city’s commercial hubs, Midtown South, by adding up to 9,700 homes, including 2,900 affordable units and close to 800 converted office spaces.

Mayor Eric Adams’ vision to create “a little more housing in every neighborhood,” is a step closer after public review kicked off Tuesday to expand one of the city’s busiest neighborhoods: Midtown South.

Home to more than 7,500 businesses and 135,000 jobs, the city is looking to grow Midtown South by creating more housing and spaces for commercial manufacturing, while also incorporating more public spaces like schools and libraries.

The goal is to bring more New Yorkers to one of the city’s commercial hubs by adding up to 9,700 homes, including 2,900 affordable units and close to 800 office spaces converted for residential use. 

After the City Council adopted Adams’ City of Yes for Housing Opportunity last month, there is more headway to allow for these conversions and to make adjustments for new high density zoning districts.

The plan comes as the city is combating the lowest housing vacancy rate in more than five decades, at 1.4 percent—a figure that was last seen in 1968. 

“We need to find every opportunity possible to give New Yorkers housing relief and turn the tide on this crisis,” Dan Garodnick, the Department of City Planning commissioner, said to reporters on Friday. “There’s a high level of agreement that the status quo is not working in Midtown South—the neighborhood needs a boost and that’s what we’re trying to achieve.”

Spanning 42 blocks, the area faces hurdles such as outdated zoning regulations that create barriers around building housing, officials said. There are four quadrants between West 23rd and West 40th streets along 5th and 8th avenues where housing is limited, including Herald Square and Greeley Square.

The changes are part of “The Manhattan Plan,” an initiative announced by Adams last week that aspires to add 100,000 new homes in the borough over the course of a decade. The Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan, or MSMX, is a “down payment” for close to 10,000 of those, said Garodnick.

The area is also struggling with a climbing number of office vacancies. There was a 10 percent vacancy rate before the pandemic, and the figure rose to approximately 19 percent at present, according to Garodnick.

Bringing zoning regulations up to date would allow for more occupancy in buildings through conversions. Having this mix, according to Garodnick, welcomes even more foot traffic, jobs and services.

“We’re not looking for just residential or just commercial or industrial,” he said. “We want both—a true mixed-use community that gives New Yorkers a chance to live in the heart of one of the borough’s economic hubs.”

For the first time in Midtown, affordable housing would be required through the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH), a zoning policy that demands developers build a percentage of affordable apartments with new housing.

Along with MIH, another first will be the use of the R11 and R12 zoning districts, which allow for the maximum residential Floor Area Ratio (FAR)—this can allow for larger residential developments that can include non-residential use such as retail spaces, schools and libraries.

“We’re looking to foster vibrant 24/7 mixed use neighborhoods across these 42 blocks of Midtown South,” said Garodnick. “We are really excited to get this going.”

The plan will now undergo the city’s land use public review process, known as ULURP, which allows for community boards and borough presidents to weigh in before it heads to a final vote before the City Council. 

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