This morning, Mayor Bloomberg announced the winning design for the 300-square-foot "micro apartments" that are intended to create affordable housing for singles in New York City.
The project is called My Micro NY, and the team from Monadnock Development, nARCHITECTS, and the Actors Fund HDC beat 33 other proposals to win the competition, adAPT NYC.
Based on the winning design, the city's first "micro" building will have 55 rental apartments, all ranging from 250- to 370-square-feet with big windows, ample storage space, and Juliet balconies. The building will also have a public meeting space, café, and common rooftop garden for residents, as well as a laundry room, residential storage space, a bike room, and fitness space.
Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of 2014 at 335 East 27th Street, in Kips Bay.
Residents are expected to begin moving in by September 2015. The building will be rent stabilized, environmentally friendly, and — with the exception of the size — will follow all local, state, and federal housing regulations.
Under current zoning laws, all apartments must be at least 400 square feet, but Bloomberg said in July that the new micro-units would be an exception.
My Micro NY will also be the first multi-family building in Manhattan to use modular construction, with the modules prefabricated locally by Capsys at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Modular construction is said to be safer and more efficient since the plumbing, electrical, and building development is done in a controlled, indoor environment.
The city is expecting a wait list for the apartments, which will likely range from $940 for a studio up to $1700 for a two-person apartment. A few units will be reserved for low-income families.
The contest was developed to address the growing need in New York City for affordable studios, one person- and two person-households. It is a part of Mayor Bloomberg's New Housing Marketplace Plan, a multi-billion dollar initiative to finance 165,000 units of affordable housing for an expected 500,000 New Yorkers.
The winning design is also featured in the Museum of the City of New York's exhibit, Making Room: New Models for Housing New Yorkers, alongside four other notable designs that were proposed in the adAPT contest.
"New York’s ability to adapt with changing times is what made us the world’s greatest city," Bloomberg said at this morning's press conference. "And it’s going to be what keeps us strong in the 21st Century."
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