East aerial view of the proposed 1755 Watson Avenue development. Image credit: Azimuth Development
Zoning Subcommittee approved a proposed 286-unit fully affordable housing complex in the Bronx’s Soundview neighborhood. On May 30, 2017, the City Council’s Zoning Subcommittee voted 5-0 to approve an application submitted by Azimuth Development Group, LLC, to develop four attached buildings with residential, community facility and retail uses. The applicant sought to up-zone most of the 63,000 square foot development site and to designate the site as a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Area.
The development site is a corner lot located on Watson Avenue between Rosedale and Commonwealth Avenues, and is currently occupied by the Bronx Pentecostal Deliverance Center, a local church. The Center is in a one-story building that has also been used as a supermarket and auto sales and service facility in the past. The church is a co-developer and non-profit partner in the project.
The applicant sought to up-zone the site from an R5 zoning district with a C1-2 overlay to an R7A zoning district with a C1-4 overlay. An R5 zoning district allows for a maximum of 1.25 FAR for residential use and a maximum of 2.0 FAR for community facilities. An R7A zoning district allows for a maximum of 4.6 FAR for residential use and a maximum of 4.0 for community facility use. The new C1-4 commercial overlay would allow for grocery stores, dry cleaners, drug stores, restaurants and local clothing stores. The up-zoned commercial overlay lowers parking requirements.
The proposed development would consist of four attached buildings with residential, community facility and retail uses, along with 56 at-grade vehicle parking spaces and 146 bicycle spaces. Utilizing the MIH law and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s ELLA program, the applicant intends all 286 proposed dwelling units to be affordable. Building A, fronting Rosedale Avenue, would be a nine-story building with 107,459 square feet of residential space, totaling 120 dwelling units. Building B, fronting the entire block front of Watson Avenue, would be an eight-story mixed-use building with 101,434 square feet of residential space, totaling 113 dwelling units, and 16,592 square feet of ground floor retail uses intended for local retailers potentially as a supermarket or local pharmacy. Building C, fronting Commonwealth Avenue, would be a nine-story building with 48,713 square feet of residential space, totaling 53 dwelling units. Building D, also fronting Commonwealth Avenue, would be the new home for the Bronx Pentecostal Church, a three story building with 10,407 square feet of floor area.
Western view of the proposed 1755 Watson Avenue development. Image credit: Azimuth Development
On February 16, 2017, Bronx Community Board 9 voted 25-0 to recommend approval of the project with modifications. The Community Board requested the applicant include a senior housing component, allocate space for a volunteer ambulance rescue squad, commit to 24 hour on-site security guards, commit to creating high quality building service jobs, and collaborate with independent non-profit, United Hispanic Construction Workers to ensure 25 percent of the construction force be local workers. On March 23, 2017, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. issued his recommendation to approve the application.
At the May 30th hearing, Richard Bass, with Akerman LLP, spoke on behalf of the developers. Bass informed the subcommittee that of the 286 units created, ten percent would be at shelter rents, ten percent at 30 percent of the area median income, ten percent at 40 percent of the area median income, ten percent at 50 percent of the area median income, thirty percent at 60 percent of the area median income and thirty percent at 80 percent of the area median income.
Guido Subotovsky, President of Azimuth Development, explained that his company has a long standing commitment to local hiring including the mandatory 25 percent of workers being local. Subotovsky testified that he would be working with the church on recruitment.
Chair Donovan Richards characterized the development as a good project, calling the affordability plan “applaudable.” Chair Richards also noted that the local representative, Council Member Palma, supported the application.
A representative of Service Employees International Union, Local 32B testified that while the union recognizes the importance of building new affordable housing, it called on the committee to vote against the project until the developers committed to union building workers.
CC: Watson Avenue Rezoning, Bronx (LU 0649-2017; 0650-2017) (May 30, 2017).
By: Jonathon Sizemore (Jonathon is the CityLaw Fellow and a New York Law School Graduate, Class of 2016).