Lisa Gomez and David Dishy

David Dishy and Lisa Gomez know that one key ingredient in developing affordable housing is space for a beloved cultural institution.

“We’re urbanists at heart — we like creating strong neighborhood community anchors,” Gomez said. “People like living in a place with an interesting cultural soul at the heart of it.”

At a time when some affordable housing projects are struggling to get off the ground, L+M has some $20 billion in development and 57,000 units completed or in the pipeline. The duo are also behind the L+M development and investment spinoff LMXD. 

So far this year, they have finished the first phase of Alafia, a 2.2 million-square-foot project on Erskine Street in Brooklyn’s East New York that will offer 2,400 affordable apartments for seniors and people with intellectual disabilities. They’re also developing the Jasper, a 484,000-square-foot site on 50th Avenue in Long Island City, Queens, that will feature 499 homes and 40,000 square feet of retail and community space. 

But their standout developments have included new homes for nonprofit organizations, museums, and performing arts centers well beyond Broadway and Museum Mile.

Last year, L+M and three other partners developed a 200-foot-high, 414,000-square-foot complex on 121 West 125th Street that will serve as the home of the National Urban League and its new civil rights museum, the National United Negro College Fund, and the Studio Museum. L+M also teamed with Squared and Taconic to build two interconnected buildings at 405-407 West 206th Street in Inwood that will feature 698 residences and a new performing arts center managed by The People’s Theatre.

“Being able to help cultural institutions that help make communities special survive into their next iteration is made possible by this work,” Gomez said. “It’s something to fundraise around and build excitement, whereas getting operational support might not be so easy.”

Additional affordable units could be in the pipeline soon thanks to New York’s City of Yes rezoning. Dishy and Gomez are determining how they can make changes to their projects now that the rezoning lifted parking requirements in certain neighborhoods.

“It certainly helped nudge every project we’re working on in a very positive direction to do things to be responsive to the needs of our residents,” Dishy said of City of Yes.