City’s adAPT NYC Initiative Highlights Rise of Mod, Mod, Modular in New York City
By Al Barbarino January 23, 2013 10:43 am
reprintsOn the heels of a report published by The Commercial Observer highlighting the growing presence of modular design in New York City, the city announced yesterday that the winner of a competition to build an apartment tower on city-owned land will piece it together using 55 modular units.
The city hopes the announcement of the adAPT NYC competition winner will spur further growth of initiatives aimed at addressing the city’s shortage of studio and one-bedroom apartments.
“We have a shortfall now of 800,000, and it’s only going to get worse,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at the Museum of the City of New York, where he announced the winner. “This is going to be a big problem for cities with young people… and addressing that housing challenge requires us to think creatively and beyond our current regulations.”
Monadnock Development, Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation, and nARCHITECTS will build the My Micro NY project at 335 East 27th Street. The city is waiving current zoning laws that prohibit so-called “micro-units,” and 40 Percent of them will be made available to low- and middle-income New Yorkers.
Ranging in size between 250 and 370 square feet, the units will feature nine-foot ceiling, wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, a compact kitchen, space for entertaining, and a 16-foot overhead loft space and a closet
Residents will also have access to a communal lounge, rooftop garden, attic garden, ground-floor porch, laundry room, storage space, bike room, and a fitness space.
