Plans Filed For Private Development On UES NYCHA Land

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Developers have filed building plans with the city for a controversial project to build a private apartment complex on Upper East Side land owned by the New York City Housing Authority.

Fetner Properties applied for permits to construct a 530-foot-tall tower on what is currently a playground on the Holmes Towers campus on East 92nd Street between First and York Avenues. The development will contain 339 apartment units — half of which will be offered at market rates and half of which will be offered at regulated below-market rates.

Planned residential amenities at the tower include a laundry room, gym, golf simulator, dog spa, children's room and a roof terrace, according to building plans. The development will also feature a community gym.

A 99-year ground lease was awarded to Fetner for the building site as part of the city's NextGen NYCHA program. The housing authority predicted that the new Holmes Towers development will raise $25 million for NYCHA, half of which would be directly invested in capital needs at the two-building development.

"We’re pleased to be delivering new affordable housing for low-income families, open space, and a state-of-the-art recreational and community center, as well as providing funds to support much-needed building and infrastructure repairs for NYCHA residents," a Fetner properties spokesman said in a statement about the new filing.

It's unclear when construction on the development is expected to begin.

Community Board 8, which represents the Upper East Side, has voiced opposition to Fetner's planned development.

The board's concerns with the development were wide-ranging. Board members voiced opposition not only to the design and size of the building, but also to the development's affordable housing components, the amount of money being raised for NYCHA repairs and whether the city should be allowing private development on land set aside for public housing.

Read more about Community Board 8's concerns with the project here.

Photo courtesy New York City Housing Authority