We’d like to introduce ShareNYC – a small-scale development project in Brooklyn that began as a response to a Request For Proposals aimed at repurposing existing residential buildings and reconfiguring them into shared housing (‘co-living’) by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) in New York City. Recently, we kicked off construction and we look forward to sharing updates on this project that has been several years in the making.

Generally, new construction and substantial rehabilitation projects can take a long time in development. That timeline can be even longer for development projects within affordable housing programs, and especially –as is the case here- when we are at the forefront of designing a new housing typology. The project proposes to convert the existing two-family, three-story building into a safe, legal, and permanently affordable Single Room Occupancy (SRO) building. The HPD development program also set out to provide legal status to shared housing in NYC, and through the existing public-private partnership framework of the city’s Third Party Transfer Program, provide a pathway for a local entity, Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, to manage the building.

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There are typically many people involved and invested in the development process guided by the principle of ‘wanting to get it right’ so that the project can serve as a model for the future. ShareNYC, although relatively small in scale, is a testament of that guiding principle, and HHA is extremely proud to be part of the process. It is a unique opportunity to show how we can sustainably add much needed affordable housing units to NYC’s housing stock by re-utilizing and adapting existing buildings. We’re thrilled to finally see the physical work started on this “ground-breaking” project.

Stay tuned for more…