What is going on with that large building at the corner of 116th Street and Manhattan Avenue? Number 321 West 116th Street was inhabited within the past couple of years but now the entire property is boarded up. DOB records don't really show any work scheduled for this HPD building so what happened that the government agency had to evacuate the entire structure? The location is a block away from Morningside Park and has a lot of retail on the lower level so it would really revitalize the area if someone does decide to fix it up.
The building is in HDP’s TIL Program (Tenant Interim Lease Program).The TIL program is designed to accelerate the return of City-owned buildings to tenant ownership (Once construction completed the tenants will purchase the cooperative interest attributable to their apartments for $250.00 per unit.). Everyone in the building moved our over a year and a half ago, that also includes the deli that was renting the bottom commercial space on 116th and Manhattan Ave. The other 2 commercial spaces on 116th street have been empty for over 14years. Regarding the building, HPD provides a construction loan to the sponsor, consisting of Capital funds to finance the renovation of the site. The crash of the housing market has had a huge affect on the TIL program, most of the projects have be put on hold. It’s all about funding
ReplyDeleteThat's fascinating, Terry, thanks for the good word.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm just a little unclear--will the tenant buyers be the same individuals who were ushered out of the building for the renovation? Or does the TIL Program solicit new buyers for the co-ops? (And if the latter, where do they deposit the former inhabitants?) In either case, the pricing seems so competitive that the sponsor should be rather motivated to finish the work. With any luck, HPD will come through with the rest of the capital, and they can get the thing done.
Exactly what Terry said plus,
ReplyDeleteThe non-profits that oversee the renovation and conversion process often are under staffed, under funded and suffer from employee burn out and turn around.
The negotiations between tenants, banks, architects, city agencies, non-profits, politicians etc can be long and complicated. The disputes between tenants can prolong the process as well, since many want to leave things as they are (for many reasons).
It is very hard on the tenants too. Often they have to leave their homes for years. Come back to higher rents/maintenance fees that some of the low income families can not afford and Section 8 has rejected many.
In theory TIL and TPT are great...making tenants to homeowners for $250, giving them co-op powers, low low interest construction loans that are often forgiven etc. Non-profits that are supposed to keep a hand over the process... But the realities can be quite heartbreaking and exhausting.
just re-read my entry and the picture I paint is obviously influenced by today's weather...rainy and gray....so let me cast a little sunshine too:
ReplyDeleteIf a building made it trough the renovations and conversions and has involved tenants that want to be owners, can afford the maintenance and a strong, proactive forward thinking board they can be a dream come true!!
and Working Stiff, yes the tenants do come back and are offered their units to buy or to stay rent stabilized tenants. The empty units are sold off to low/middle income families and the income goes towards the construction loan and or the buildings funds.
A key point in the success of many of these co-ops is having empty units that can be sold as sponsor units - usually with prices ranging from $100,000 to 400,000 depending on size and location. (There is no official regulated price; the restrictions are on the buyer in the form of income caps.) The income from sponsor unit sales is usually what makes these HDFC co-ops run smoothly. If there are no original empty units and all the other original tenants are low income, it is very difficult for a co-op board to keep up with all the future financial obligations that the building may encounter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the info! I was just curious~ where'd you find out about the timing of the residents moving out? I ask because I live in an adjacent building, and I remember people still being there more recently than 1.5 years ago, especially in the deli, since I was a customer! I wasn't even aware that anything was going on with the building until they put the boards over the windows, which I seem to remember as a fairly recent addition. Is it possible that some people were slower to move out? Am I misremembering all this? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI did not have to read beyond the headline to know that it is City owned.
ReplyDeleteThere is no worse landlord then the City itself.
Trust.