Introduction
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Phase I of the development at 164 Kent Avenue (in Brooklyn) on the Williamsburg waterfront includes 113 on-site affordable units through the Inclusionary Housing program
Image courtesy of Kent Avenue Property 1-B LLC |
In 2005, New York City introduced a groundbreaking addition to the Inclusionary Housing Program to promote affordable housing in new residential developments. The program fosters economic integration within redeveloping neighborhoods by leveraging private market activity to generate affordable housing. By providing a floor area bonus for the construction or preservation of affordable housing, inclusionary zoning harnesses the strength of the city's housing market to create a mix of units for low- and moderate-income families along with market-rate apartments.
The Inclusionary Housing Program is being implemented by the Department of City Planning together with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and is part of the Mayor's New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing over ten years.
The original Inclusionary Housing Program, part of New York City's zoning since 1987, was confined mainly to Manhattan's highest density districts. The expanded Inclusionary Housing Program, which can be applied in areas being rezoned to medium- and high-density residential districts, combines a zoning floor area bonus with a variety of housing subsidy programs to create powerful incentives for the development and preservation of affordable housing. Developments taking advantage of the full bonus in the new program must devote at least 20 percent of their residential floor area to housing that will remain permanently affordable to lower-income households.
The new program has been applied in several recent rezonings to promote new housing development, including Hudson Yards in Manhattan, Greenpoint-Williamsburg in Brooklyn and Woodside/Maspeth in Queens. As development occurs in areas where it is applicable, the Inclusionary Housing Program is expected to produce over 5,000 affordable units.Within the first three years of the program's introduction, over 2,000 units of affordable housing are either under development or planned.
Where Inclusionary Housing Is Applicable
The new Inclusionary Housing Program is applicable in several recently rezoned areas. Click on the map or links below for information about each of these rezonings.
The original Inclusionary Housing bonus continues to be available in R10 and equivalent commercial districts, the city's highest-density residential districts (other than those subject to the new program). In these zoning districts, affordable units earning a floor area bonus are limited in their use of housing subsidy programs.
Expanded Inclusionary Housing Zoning Bonus
In areas where the new Inclusionary Housing Program is applicable, a zoning bonus allows increased floor area for residential developments in exchange for the provision of permanently affordable housing. The additional floor area must be accommodated within the applicable height and setback provisions of the underlying zoning district.
In most areas where the Inclusionary Housing Program is applicable, such as 4th Avenue in South Park Slope and Queens Boulevard in Maspeth/Woodside, bonus floor area is accommodated within the height limits of a contextual zoning district. In these areas, the amount of bonus floor area is determined by the amount of lower-income housing provided. For each square foot of lower-income housing provided, a development is eligible for 1.25 square feet of bonus floor area, up to the maximum floor area ratio (FAR) permitted with the bonus. (In other words, for every 400 square feet of affordable housing provided, a developer can increase the project's floor area by 500 square feet.) Developments attaining the full bonus are required to provide an amount of affordable housing equaling 20 percent of the residential floor area developed on the site.
Illustration of Inclusionary Housing bonus in R8A district, South Park Slope
For example, an Inclusionary Housing bonus is available in R8A districts mapped on 4th Avenue under the 2005 South Park Slope Rezoning (Community District 7, Brooklyn). For developments not participating in the Inclusionary Housing Program, the maximum FAR is 5.4. For a development providing affordable housing, the FAR may be increased by 1.25 square feet for each square foot of lower-income housing provided, up to a maximum FAR of 7.2, a bonus of 33 percent for providing 20 percent affordable housing. Bonus floor area is accommodated within the height limits of the R8A district.
In Hudson Yards, the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront, and West Chelsea, a floor area bonus is available for developments providing a flat percentage, at least 20 percent, of total residential floor area for affordable housing. Bonus floor area is accommodated within the height and setback regulations for each of these areas.
Lower-Income Housing Requirements
In order to earn the bonus, lower-income units must be affordable to households at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), and must remain affordable for the life of the development receiving the bonus. By utilizing housing subsidy programs targeted to particular income levels, units produced through the Inclusionary Housing program can be made affordable at a range of income levels below 80 percent of AMI. (Under the special regulations for Hudson Yards, West Chelsea, and the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront, the bonus can also be attained by providing a portion of the affordable units for moderate- or middle-income households, with a larger overall number of affordable units.)
Lower-income housing units used to earn the Inclusionary Housing bonus may be new units on the same site as the development receiving the bonus, or new or preserved units in a separate building off-site. Off-site affordable units must be located within the same community district, or in an adjacent community district on a site within a half-mile of the site receiving the bonus.
Developments using the floor area bonus in the new program may also use various city, state and federal housing subsidy programs and tax incentives to finance affordable units. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development must approve a Lower Income Housing Plan for all developments in the Inclusionary Housing Program.
For more information on HPD financing programs and tax incentives, visit the HPD website.
Visit HPD for information on applying for a Lower Income Housing Plan. |
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