Over the weekend, an article in The New York Times examined a possible rezoning of Soho that would bring approximately 3,200 new housing units, about 800 of which would be affordable, over the next 10 years. Opponents object to the possibility of overdevelopment and non-contextual buildings casting shadows on the historic Soho streetscape.

However, with rents rising and inventory falling, the need for more housing, especially attainably-price units, cannot be ignored. Many of the new buildings and affordable housing construction in the works for the city are set in outer-borough neighborhoods well outside Manhattan's business districts. Below, we take a look at a dozen new developments moving their way through the pipeline.

91 Ludlow Street

Neighborhood: Lower East Side

Building Type: Mixed-Use Rental

A stretch of the Lower East Side that Bowery Boogie described as being among one of the smelliest has cleaned up quite a bit in recent years. Essex Crossing has taken Manhattan by storm, and luxury condos like 100 Norfolk Street, 150 Rivington Street, and 30 Orchard Street have transformed the local streetscape and real estate market. Most recently, permits were filed for a 12-story mixed-use tower at 91 Ludlow Street.

The development site was listed for $18 million in August 2017, and the owner is an entity listed as 91 Ludlow Street, LLC. Renderings by Raymond Chan, architect of record, show a slim tan building with a clearly designated retail area on the ground floor and floor-to-ceiling windows for the 41 apartments on top. (Between the lack of an offering plan and average unit size of 699 square feet, we’re guessing rentals.) A portion of the apartments will be affordable, and amenities will include an outdoor terrace, an indoor roof lounge, a basement storage room, a central laundry room, and 21 bike parking spaces. An estimated completion date has not been provided.

172 East 122nd Street

Neighborhood: East Harlem

Building Type: Mixed-Use Rental

Permits were recently approved for a new residential tower at 172 East 122nd Street in East Harlem. Developer Atari Realty is at the helm of the seven-story, 15-unit project, and a rendering by Raymond Chan shows a tan brick building with floor-to-ceiling windows.

The project has the appearance of a boutique condominium, but a rental is more likely given the average unit size of 779 square feet. The rendering shows private terraces with select units, and amenities will include storage, a basement recreation area, a first-floor lounge, a bike room, and open parking spaces. Demolition permits have not yet been filed, and an estimated completion date has not yet been provided.

335 Fifth Avenue

Neighborhood: Murray Hill

Building Type: Mixed-Use Residential

“That’s one of those buildings that whenever I pass it by, it makes me smile.” So says Andrew Scott Dolkart, director of the historic preservation program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, of the Demarest Building on the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 34th Street. The five-story commercial building dates back to 1889 and was designed by Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell (founder James Renwick Jr. designed St. Patrick’s Cathedral). More than 100 years later, its terra cotta facade and massive arched windows still command attention. Another claim to fame is the building’s status as home to the world’s first electrically powered elevator.

The latest news for the site, though, is not likely to make Mr. Dolkart happy. Owner Pi Capital Partners filed permits for a new mixed-use tower in August 2019; demolition permits for the Demarest building were filed in September 2020, and renderings of its replacement have been revealed. The design by Raymond Chan shows a glassy building towering over its neighbors with private balconies jutting out. The Wendy's fast food restaurant and upper-level offices have vacated the premises, suggesting that demolition may be imminent.

The most recent permits call for a 21-story, 82-unit mixed-use tower with no more than five units per floor, as well as amenities like a lounge, fitness center, bike room, and accessory roof terraces for select units. An offering plan has not yet been filed, but nearby neighbors like 277 Fifth Avenue, The NOMA, and 30E31 should offer some indication as to how the apartments within might be priced. According to CityRealty’s NoMad index, the average price for the area is $1,737 per square foot.

144 West 15th Street

Neighborhood: Chelsea

Building Type: Mixed-Use Residential

Permits have been filed for a new 10-story, 61-unit mixed-use rental at 144 West 15th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Chelsea. Aufgang Architects is the architect of record, and renderings show a two-towered development with room for a courtyard in between. Building amenities are set to include a lounge, co-working space, bike room, and rooftop terrace.

The five-story structure currently on the site serves as a chapel and administrative space for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As the project’s developer is City Creek Reserve, the real estate arm of the church, it looks likely that the church will occupy the buildings’ community space, much like other religious institutions throughout the city (see below for another example in the Bronx).

250 Water Street

Neighborhood: Financial District

Building Type: Mixed-Use Residential

In the months following the “no action” ruling on 250 Water Street in the heart of the South Street Seaport Historic District, Howard Hughes Corporation and Skidmore Owings & Merrill will return before Landmarks on Tuesday, April 6. In January, Landmarks recommendations included reducing the building’s height, reducing the height of the base in relation to the historic surroundings, and making the facades, cornices, storefronts, and other details more historically sensitive. To that end, the building has been shrunk by about 27 percent (to 550,000 square feet from 757,000 square feet), and the height of the tallest tower has been reduced to 345 feet high. A presentation shows examples of other Landmarks-approved projects for seemingly every aspect of this new one.

As a result of shrinking the building, the number of units has shrunk as well. Where January’s proposal called for 360 new housing units, 100 of which would be affordable, the new project calls for a total of 270 new units with 70 affordable to 40 percent of the Area Median Income (h/t Tribeca Citizen). Considering Community Board 1 has only seen 149 new affordable housing units built in the entire de Blasio administration, this would still be a welcome influx.

In addition to the new tower, the proposal calls for a new building at 89 South Street, on the corner of John Street, as a new home for the South Street Seaport Museum. Its design has been revised to feature a lower bulkhead and to explore treatment of the copper on the facade. One thing that has not changed, though, is the developer’s commitment to supporting the museum, which has been a key part of the downtown community yet suffered one financial concern after another throughout the 21st century. If Landmarks does not approve this version of the project, Howard Hughes Corporation has announced a plan to develop the sight “as-of-right” with a 160-foot-high tower with a mix of commercial and residential uses, but no affordable housing and undetermined support for the museum.

1769 Fort George Hill

Neighborhood: Inwood

Building Type: Mixed-Use Residential

Under the Inwood rezoning plan, the de Blasio administration will seek to create or preserve 4,100 units of affordable housing in the neighborhood by 2032. Among these will be a 12-story, 146-unit community at 1769 Fort George Hill, across the street from Highbridge Park and up the block from the Dyckman Street 1 train.

The gently curved building will have 10,000 square feet of space for the Movimento Mundo Church, and amenities for residents will include a gym, bike room, and roof terrace with a garden for recreational and irrigation purposes. In a Daily Arch News article, designer Body Lawson Associates said this project was emblematic of their focus on community engagement.

629-639 West 142nd Street

Neighborhood: Hamilton Heights

Building Type: Residential

An environmental assessment statement has been submitted for a new residential development in Hamilton Heights, across the street from Riverside Park. The developer plans to build a 17-story, 81-unit building with one unit for a live-in superintendent and 20 units to be affordable at 60 percent of the Area Median Income. A massing diagram shows a tall building with a slightly curved facade.

Three of the four lots are occupied by three-story buildings that are empty in anticipation of demolition; the fourth will remain. Construction was expected to commence in late 2020 with an estimated completion in 2022, but the pandemic may have affected that timeline. Permits have not yet been filed with the Department of Buildings.

2201 Third Avenue

Neighborhood: Hamilton Heights

Building Type: Mixed-Use Residential

Designer Gerald J. Caliendo Architects has revealed a rendering of a 20-story residential tower for 2201 Third Avenue in East Harlem. The mockup shows a retail storefront, a brick and stone facade for several stories, and six glass-enclosed floors at the top of the building. Select residences have private terraces.

It is unclear what such a project will mean for Lore Decorators, the family-owned upholstery firm that currently has a storefront on the site and has been in business for more than 50 years. Permits for a new tower have not yet been filed with the Department of Buildings.

124-132 East 125th Street

Neighborhood: East Harlem

Building Type: Commercial

After building up a Harlem assemblage on the ground and acquiring 17,000 square feet of air rights, developer MADDD Equities is hard at work on a new East Harlem development. According to Crain’s New York Business, the sites span approximately 11,600 square feet between Lexington and Park Avenues and include a site acquired from Dream Charter School, for which MADDD is building a new school in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx.

The project will be entirely commercial, and schools and medical firms have been identified as its most likely tenants. A timeline for the project calls for finishing demolition by the end of the year, starting construction in the first quarter of 2022, and completing construction in 2024.

421 Maple Street

Neighborhood: East Flatbush

Building Type: Residential

With 421 Maple Street, it would appear that the Brooklyn boutique condo building boom has stretched into East Flatbush. The proposed building is only four stories high, but renderings by IMC Architecture show a structure towering over its neighbors and sporting a perforated facade so as to maximize light without sacrificing privacy. Select units will enjoy private balconies.

According to permits, the 10 units will include duplex units on the second and third floors, with a fourth-floor duplex extending into the penthouse. Demolition permits for the single-family house previously on the site were filed in November 2018, but a completion date has not yet been determined.

881 Lexington Avenue

Neighborhood: Bedford-Stuyvesant

Building Type: Mixed-Use Residential

Work is underway on a 24-unit rental in the Stuyvesant Heights section of Brooklyn. With its brick facade, oversized windows, and stepped glass, designer Issac & Stern bring a modern design to the neighborhood. An entity known as 881 Lexington LLC is listed as the owner on permits.

Select units will have private terraces, and building-wide amenities will include storage and a roof terrace. The building will also offer bike rooms and 12 on-site parking spaces, but the Gates Avenue J/Z subway stop is a short walk away. Demolition permits have not yet been filed, and a completion estimate has not been provided.

Logan Fountain, 265 Logan Street

Neighborhood: East New York

Building Type: Mixed-Use Residential

Hudson Companies and DCV Holdings have teamed up to develop Logan Fountain, a 100% affordable housing development planned for 265 Logan Street in East New York. The 12-story building will be designed by MHG Architects, a firm that counts La Central among its affordable housing portfolio, and the rendering shows a massive, multi-colored brick building. Of the 346 units planned, 30 percent of apartments will be supportive housing for those transitioning out of homelessness, and Jericho Project will provide services for these residents. The remainder will be affordable to households earning between 30 and 80 percent of the Area Median Income.

Features like cogeneration and solar power will help Logan Fountain in its quest for LEED certification, and residential amenities will include a courtyard with seating and a play area, a children’s playroom, a fitness center, laundry rooms, a mail/package room, bike rooms, and accessory parking for 25 vehicles. In addition to the new housing units, the project will include approximately 8,700 square feet of retail space and a 2,901-square-foot community facility. Completion is estimated for 2022.

28-16 42nd Road

Neighborhood: Long Island City

Building Type: Mixed-Use Residential

Permits for a 13-story building at 28-16 42nd Road were filed in 2016, and designer of record Raymond Chan Architect has revealed what this could look like: A rendering shows an all-glass building with two floors of retail space and floor-to-ceiling windows for the apartments on top. This will not be the tallest building on the block, but will nevertheless stand out for its modern appearance and corner address. An entity known as 27-51 Jackson Avenue, LLC is listed as the developer.

The 34 apartments will start on the third floor, and there will be no more than four apartments per floor. Amenities will include an elevator, laundry room, and recreation rooms on the third and thirteenth floors. It is planned for an especially development-rich section of Long Island City near the Queens Plaza E/M/R subway stop - Jackson Park, Tower 28, and One LIC can be found on surrounding blocks.

Roosevelt Oriental, 142-26 and 142-38 Roosevelt Avenue

Neighborhood: Flushing

Building Type: Mixed-Use Residential

In the wake of the city’s approval of the Special Flushing Waterfront District last December, this section of Queens is in for a building boom beyond this stretch of Flushing. Among the new developments is Roosevelt Oriental, an eight-story mixed-use building to rise at 142-26 and 142-38 Roosevelt Avenue, on top of two floors of subterranean parking. The 85 condos inside will range from one- to three-bedroom units, and the building will also feature office space, ground-floor retail, and a community facility. Local designer Raymond Chan Architects has prepared renderings showing a floor-to-ceiling glass tower with mullions, a staggered pattern, and a landscaped rooftop.

Columbia Pacific Advisors Bridge Lending has recently provided developer Eastone Equities a $15 million loan to refinance the project. Construction is expected to begin over the summer, but demolition permits have not yet been filed for the buildings currently on the sites.

Senda di Benedicion, 508 Brook Avenue

Neighborhood: Bronx

Building Type: Mixed-Use Residential

Some churches lament the loss of their long-time homes to the city's relentless tide of development, but that is not the case at Pentecostal church Iglesia de Dios Senda di Benedicion: Reverend Mario Olivero told the Daily News, “We’ve been waiting 10 years to have this place destroyed” in anticipation of a new building with affordable housing and room for a new church.

While demolition permits have not yet been filed for the building that currently holds the increasingly cramped church, renderings of its replacement has been revealed. Harlem-based architect Body Lawson Associates’ design depicts a gray brick building with oversized windows and a second-story terrace. It will contain a new, 6,475-square-foot church on the ground floor and 43 low-income affordable units on top. According to permits, amenities will include a recreation room, bike room, and storage.