Plan for Seward Park approved by Community Board

Monday, 20 Aug 2012 12:18 PM

The re-development of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA) is finally headed to its next stage. Community boards and city officials formed an agreement after nearly five exhausting decades of discussions, negotiations and disagreements. The area in Manhattan's Lower East Side spans 1.65 million square feet. It is supposed to be used for 900 housing units and nearly 1 million square feet of commercial space. The most controversy came from the issue of the ratio of affordable housing to market price housing. It was agreed to an even split of 50/50, so it can be expected that close to 450 apartments are going to be under market rate, which is an amazing achievement for the supporters who fought for it. Unfortunately the word “affordable” wasn’t defined and could be an object for further discussions. The phrase in the context of New York real estate can be a challenge.

The agreement goes to the City Planning Commission for approval on August 22.

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