Soho Affordable Build at 257 Canal Gets Landmarks OK

A Landmarks Preservation Commission known for taking the wind out of developers’ sails has found a common cause to support at 257 Canal Street, a fully affordable 20-story residential project.

Alembic Community Development and The Children’s Village pitched the project for a busy stretch of Canal Street between Lafayette Street and Broadway, with 88 permanently affordable units, including 54 set aside as supportive housing for young adults aging out of the foster care system. Property records indicate an LLC associated with the Kaufman Organization owns the site; in 2023, it was marketed for sale at an asking price of $13.5 million.

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development is providing core funding through its Supportive Housing Loan Program, with rental assistance vouchers through the city’s 15/15 program, an initiative launched by former Mayor de Blasio in 2015 to develop 15,000 units of supportive housing by 2030.

Landmarks commissioners unanimously voted to approve the development Tuesday, which would sit at the southern edge of the Soho rezoning that was approved in 2021. An existing two-story building will be demolished to make way for the new residential project. The neighborhood is expected to produce 3,200 to 3,500 new housing units under the rezoning, including 900 permanently affordable ones.

“It’s so nice to participate and review a project of this nature that is 100 percent permanently affordable low-income housing, especially in this neighborhood,” Vice Chair Angie Master said. 

Backers of the contentious rezoning had argued that relatively wealthy Soho and Noho weren’t adding enough affordable housing, while critics said the plan may not produce as much affordable housing as it proposed, while allowing new developments to displace existing rent-regulated apartments.

Commissioners noted that BKSK Architects’ design, the building’s scale and retail space at the base of the proposed development keep with surrounding buildings on Canal Street, and cited the affordability goals as an example for other projects across the city. 

Landmarks in July approved United American Land’s nearby 159-unit development at 277 Canal Street, the first big new project since the Soho rezoning. 

Alembic and The Children’s Village collaborated on past affordable and supportive housing projects in Manhattan including The Eliza and Harlem Dowling. 

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