Monadnock, Richman Group Get Going in East Harlem

The Richman Group and Monadnock Development are the latest to try their hand at building a big project in East Harlem.

Richman filed plans for a 14-story, mixed-use project at 243 East 125th Street, according to a job application. The building is set to span nearly 370,000 square feet and contain 828 apartments.  The development on the vacant site will include commercial space and dozens of parking spaces.

Paul Carr of S9 Architecture is the project’s architect and Monadnock is reportedly a partner on the development. Construction is expected to begin next year.

There is a discrepancy between what the Department of Buildings project filing states and what several publications are reporting about the development, namely the unit count. Outlets including the Commercial Observer report the development will only include 420 units, but that number does not appear in the DOB project filing seen by The Real Deal.

Richman and Monadnock both did not respond to requests for comment from TRD or the Observer.

Regardless of what gets built at 243 East 125th Street, the developers are entering a real estate lion’s den for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s housing priorities.

The city’s Economic Development Corporation recently released a request for proposals for the city-owned parking lot at 2453 Second Avenue. The agency is seeking a developer to build a 140-unit mixed-use project on the site, one of three city-owned parcels between East 125th and 127th streets the city is opening up to development. The project would need to include at least 35 affordable housing units.

The city is also opening up the vacant space at 2321 Third Avenue and a parking lot stretching half a block at 2461 Second Avenue for development.

East Harlem is also where Mamdani is backing a bid by Spatial Equity Co. to take over 38 distressed apartments, a test of the city’s plan to move troubled buildings to responsible new owners.

Tenant organizers hope this change will stabilize the properties and potentially lead to a community land trust.

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