#affordable-housing

#affordable-housing

What is the one thing that makes life possible in New York City? As mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani would say, it is affordable housing. This was also true in the 1950s, when three women-all newly single mothers-founded an artist haven in a rowhouse in the East Village, a raw neighbourhood at the time better known for shelters like the Bowery Mission.

The 65-year-old Grand Concourse Library in the Bronx is about to be replaced. First renderings of the new public library show a brick-lattice façade on the first two floors and a double-height reading space that looks airy and bright. But perhaps the most unusual feature of the library is not what's inside but what's on top of the stacks: 113 affordable, rent-stabilized units.

In 2018, the City of Los Angeles made available some of its more than 1,700 city-owned parcels to affordable housing developers. Many of these sites are difficult, lying along heavy-traffic corridors or next to freeways. In other instances, the sites are composite parcels that have been left untouched for decades. In LOHA's second collaboration with non-profit developer Holos Communities, this 35,000-square-foot, 54-unit housing project and adjacent paseo repurpose a 19,814-square-foot triangular site, uniting a traffic island and a former railroad right-of-way.

New York City has seen a surge in developers proposing buildings with exactly 99 units due to the new tax program known as 485-x, a replacement for a popular policy called 421-a, which requires a $40 hourly construction worker wage for buildings with 100 or more apartments. It's decimating affordable housing where it's probably most needed, said John Valladares, an executive with the Slate Property Group.

SF-based developer Align Real Estate does, in fact, have a larger strategy to redevelop Safeway properties in the city and turn them into multi-story residential complexes with retail on the ground floor, including replacement Safeway stores. With Tuesday's announcement that Align, the same developer behind the project to redevelop the Fillmore Safeway property, was working to potentially redevelop the Ocean Beach Safeway in similar fashion, we surmised there could be a larger strategy at play.

Stepping up at the developer, which has more than $11.7 billion in assets and more than 21,000 residential units completed or under construction, will be Related executives Gino Canori and Ann Silverberg, both San Francisco based. Canori, the company's president, will retain that title and add the role of CEO for its market-rate and mixed-income division. Silverberg, who leads affordable housing development in Related California's Northern California and Northwest divisions as its CEO, will become president and CEO of the firm's entire affordable division.

The announcement made at a JPMorgan Chase-sponsored Axios event in Atlanta where policymakers, business leaders and community groups discussed housing challenges and solutions builds on the company's already-extended $5 billion in debt and equity for affordable housing in the first three quarters of 2025 The initiative focuses on strategies such as innovative construction models, financing solutions, rental unit preservation and home improvement support for low- and moderate-income families.

The development, which does not yet have a snappy name like its neighbors at 325 Kent and 1 Domino Square, will include more than 1,200 units - 315 of which will be earmarked as affordable. An additional 105 affordable units will be constructed "offsite," per zoning documents. A rezoning of the already-rezoned lot was approved by the City Council late last month, after Two Trees sought to make adjustments to the design it had pitched in 2014.

They initially planned to demolish the existing commercial and retail buildings on the site at at 15495 Los Gatos Blvd. and construct two apartment buildings with a total of 238 units, with 48, or 20%, of them to be set aside as affordable. The developers initially tried to argue that their project would qualify for a limited environmental impact report due to an exemption in the California Environmental Quality Act for infill projects under a certain acreage.

The SF Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve a new affordable-housing program based in a new building on mid-Market Street that would be dedicated to housing artists and creative types who are largely being priced out of the city. "The story of San Francisco cannot be told without its artists," says Supervisor Rafael Mandelman in a statement. "This program is an important step toward honoring that legacy and ensuring artists remain at the heart of our city's future."

Nine months ago, Katie Wilson wasn't even considering a run for any elected office. Harrell had sewed up endorsements from labor, business, mainstream Democrats including Governor Bob Ferguson, and progressive Democrats, including Pramila Jayapal. There was no alternative to Harrell, who at best was a transactional politician with bows to progressive initiatives when it was convenient. The door opened up, and Katie walked in.

The definition of a perfect home varies from person to person-some need a modern space and enormous kitchen while others prioritize cozy lodgings with a lived-in feel. But while personal preference dictates so much of what makes a home great, there's one thing that can be universally agreed upon: a great price. That's where Amazon comes in. In recent years, the retailer began listing a slew of affordable tiny homes, all with unique features that make them great.

A major redevelopment which will see more than 2,500 homes built on a former gasworks site in west London has been approved. Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area will see 500 classed as affordable with 342 at social rent and 158 at an intermediate rate. Although below Kensington and Chelsea Council's 35.7% target, officers said it was the maximum viable level.

Yoo Capital (the same folk behind west London's Olympia) has submitted plans to Camden Council to build what is essentially going to be the UK's answer to Hollywood. In the £1 billion proposal, the real-estate investment firm wants to transform under-used industrial land in Kentish Town into a purpose-built district for film production, with homes, green spaces and education facilities.

A long-planned vision for Harlem became reality Wednesday with the opening of the Urban League Empowerment Center, a $242 million, 414,000-square-foot hub that blends housing, history, and hope on 125th Street. The project, led by the National Urban League, brings the organization's national headquarters back to Harlem, the neighborhood where the League rose to prominence more than a century ago.

The London boroughs where no affordable homes are being built can be revealed. These boroughs were: the City of London, Hackney, Lambeth, Merton and Richmond. In addition, in a further 12 boroughs, the number started did not even reach double figures. These were: Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Brent, Croydon, Enfield, Haringey, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston, Wandsworth and Westminster.

Whether you want a luxurious separate working space in your backyard, an affordable second home to vacation in, or need a safe and inexpensive place to start building your family, an Amazon tiny house could be the right fit for you. This 40-foot by 20-foot model includes two bedrooms, an accommodating living space, a fully equipped open kitchen, a terrace, and one separate wet and dry bathroom.

We spend a lot of time on this podcast covering Oakland's challenges - budget crises, crime statistics, political turmoil. That's important. But it's not the full story of what's happening in this city. When we launched this newsroom, we made a commitment to reporting that reflects the value of Oakland. Along with our accountability and watchdog journalism, we share real news about real change that's making Oakland better.

CB2's Land Use Committee voted against the proposal for the 27-story development, which would rise from a landmarked Fort Greene church. After more than a year of speculation about the future of the landmarked Hanson Place Central United Methodist Church in Fort Greene, plans are now clear: The owners want to use the church's shell as the base of a 27-story, 240-unit apartment tower that would rise beside the iconic Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower.

Zohran Mamdani wants to make sure that all of his constituents have affordable housing, universal child care and boyfriends who don't make them cringe.

The Los Gatos Planning Commission approved several cost-saving measures for the developers of the North 40 to help ensure that the number of affordable housing units in the second phase of the project doesn't decrease any further. The commission voted 5-2 on Oct. 29 to agree to conditions of approval that would enable developers Grosvenor Property Americas to complete regrading the site and building 127 for-sale townhomes before the nonprofit Eden Housing can construct a 67-unit affordable housing building.

On Tuesday, New Yorkers voted to pass three housing ballot proposals to amend the city's charter, streamlining the approvals process for several types of developments. The ballot measures, which passed by about 20 percent (nearly 60 percent in favor, and a little over 40 percent against), with about 91 percent of the vote counted, were perhaps not as closely scrutinized as the mayoral polls, but they represent a major change in how the city builds housing,

The Sax consists of two interconnected towers that truly live up to their musical namesake. The taller "Havana" tower soars 180 meters across 55 stories, while its companion "Philadelphia" reaches 82 meters with 26 floors. The towers are dramatically connected by a golden skybridge spanning six stories, creating what MVRDV describes as a "saxophone-like silhouette" that will serve as a beacon on Rotterdam's evolving waterfront.

I'm 75 now, but if I told my dad I'm getting old, he would laugh. He didn't slow down until he was about 94, and he was 100 when he died last December. Dad wouldn't want me sitting still in my old age, so this year I'm leading the 39th Annual Habitat for Humanity Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project in his honor. I cried during the opening ceremony, because it's the first time the work project has happened since my father died.

"Playland at 43rd Avenue,"

Boston has granted building permits to another office-to-housing conversion, this time in the South End. Developers are converting a former office building at 615 Albany St. into 24 apartments as part of the city's effort to transform underused commercial space into much-needed housing. It is one of 19 projects participating in Boston's office-to-residential incentive program, which aims to revitalize downtown by replacing outdated offices with homes.