Renderings of Timbale Terrace (left) and the East Harlem Multi-Service Center/Beacon site (right). Image Credit: HPD
The two developments will have almost 600 affordable units between them. On August 13, 2021, the New York City Department of Housing Development and Preservation (HPD) announced its plan to develop nearly 600 affordable homes, a new Afro-Latin Music and Arts (ALMA) Center and to renovate the East Harlem Multi-Service Center in East Harlem. The project will include two mixed-use developments, located at 413 East 120th Street and at the former 25th Precinct parking lot on Park Avenue between East 118th and East 119th Streets.
Former 25th Precinct Parking Site
The former NYPD 25th Precinct Parking Site, located between East 118th Street and East 119th Street, will be transformed into a development called “Timbale Terrace.” Timbale Terrace will contain one of the residential building and the performing arts center.
The residential building will contain 330 affordable homes, with 99 of the units set aside for formerly homeless households. The residential building will have large outdoor spaces, terraces, a fitness center, common kitchen area, office space and community space. Social services focusing on health, education, employment and stable housing will be provided by Lantern Community Services.
The development’s 16,000 square foot performance arts center, operated by the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance (ALJA), will be designed to honor the cultural heritage of the East Harlem community. The Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance performs, preserves and educates about the music of the Americas that comes from African and indigenous roots through jazz and has a commitment to social justice, equity and inclusion of all cultures worldwide. The ALJA performance arts center will have practice rooms, community performance and art gallery spaces, recording studios, and street-facing retail. The center will host professional musical performances, offer free and affordable music education programming for all ages, job training in the arts, and run an anti-gun initiative through the new center.
East Harlem Multi-Service Center Site – 413 East 120th Street
The second site, the East Harlem Multi-Service Center located at 413 E. 120th Street, will be known as “The Beacon.” The Beacon will contain the newly renovated and expanded Multi-Service Center with a new residential building constructed at the back of the existing Center. The residential building will feature 250 affordable units, with 75 units set aside for formerly homeless households. The Center’s original architecture will be preserved and will have a new atrium, additional space for afterschool programming, green space and a walk path to connect the residential building to the Center.
Both projects are made possible due to the East Harlem rezoning approved by the City Council in 2017. The East Harlem rezoning prioritizes creating more than 2,600 affordable homes. Other East Harlem rezoning projects include the Sendero Verde development, which CityLand previously covered here. The East Harlem Rezoning took recommendations from the East Harlem Neighborhood Plan, an initiative developed through years of planning with hundreds of residents, elected officials, and stakeholders in East Harlem. The plan identifies the community’s vision for more affordable housing, education, workforce development, and support for neighborhood small businesses and nonprofits.
HPD Commissioner Louise Carroll stated, “These incredible projects are delivering on the City’s commitment to invest in job training, youth, education, and more affordable housing for East Harlem. They are also proving that affordable housing can be an anchor for the arts and the entire community’s well-being. I am so proud to announce plans for both the new Afro-Latin Music and Arts Center and renovated multi-service facility that will enhance the community’s quality of life. I want to thank our partners, The Community Builders, Ascendant Neighborhood Development, Mega Contracting, Lantern Organization, and the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance for their creative and thoughtful leadership.”
By: Victoria Agosta (Victoria is the CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2022.)