UES Building With 35 Affordable Apartments Opens Doors

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Officials held a ribbon-cutting last week to mark the opening of a new 22-story building on the Upper East Side that includes nearly three dozen affordable apartments.

Known as Convivium, the development is at 515 East 86th St., just east of York Avenue and about a block west of Carl Schurz Park.

Of the building's 140 units, 35 are affordable — including 14 studios that have rents set at $747, and five that will remain affordable permanently.

A housing lottery that was launched for the building last year has already been completed. The first residents have already moved into Convivium, which is already half leased, broker Douglas Wagner said.

Those in attendance at Friday's ceremony included Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and City Councilmember Ben Kallos.

A separate housing lottery for 11 affordable apartments on East 94th Street is still open, with a March 11 deadline.

Every day is a good day to open up new affordable housing on the UES.

Just cut the ribbon on Convivium, on E 86th St a 140-unit development that includes 25% affordable housing.

Thank you to Community Housing Improvement Program for getting this new much-needed housing open. pic.twitter.com/yhT3Ip475l
— Ben Kallos, NYC Council Member (@BenKallos) March 5, 2021

Developers Carrera RS received a tax break for including the affordable apartments.

In addition to the affordable units, realtors boast that Convivium is "the most energy efficient apartment building in New York City." The building is a passive house, meaning it uses between 40 to 60 percent less energy for heating and air conditioning than conventional buildings.

The building's standard apartment rentals run between $3,250 and $7,000 per month, according to its Streeteasy listings.

Read more at Convivium's website. Find active housing lottery listings at Housing Connect.