Big Apple Goes Super Tiny: Micro-Unit Development in Manhattan Lands $10.3 M Construction Loan

It took more than one year to get this project going but the Big Apple is finally getting its first ever micro-apartment building developed on city-owned land. As previously reported by Multi-Housing News Online, in early 2013 Monadnock Development LLC, Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation and nARCHITECTS were selected as the winning team of the “adapt NYC” Competition, a city-sponsored pilot program that looked for innovative designs to solve New York’s housing crisis.

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

 

It took more than one year to get this project going but the Big Apple is finally getting its first ever micro-apartment building developed on city-owned land. As previously reported by Multi-Housing News Online, in early 2013 Monadnock Development LLC, Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation and nARCHITECTS were selected as the winning team of the “adapt NYC” Competition, a city-sponsored pilot program that looked for innovative designs to solve New York’s housing crisis.

My Micro NY in Kips Bay, Manhattan

My Micro NY in Kips Bay, Manhattan

M&T Bank recently closed on a $10.3 million construction loan to provide the largest piece of financing for Monadnock Development LLC and its partners to build the first micro-unit, modular property with rental apartments measuring between 250 and 370 square feet. Additional financing for the $16.6 million project called My Micro NY will come through equity provided by the development team and a secondary construction loan awarded by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Though some voices might question the project’s significantly low price, My Micro NY will be a financially sustainable development by incorporating very fast, efficient and cost effective modular construction technology designed to make small spaces more livable. “Modular construction is cost efficient and we believe these micro-units will fill a need in the

My Micro NY in Kips Bay, Manhattan

My Micro NY in Kips Bay, Manhattan

Manhattan market,” said in a press statement M&T Bank Regional President Peter D’Arcy.

The innovative My Micro NY is currently under construction on the site of an old parking lot at East 27th Street and Mt. Carmel Place in Manhattan’s Kips Bay neighborhood. The nine-story rental property will include 55 small-sized units built with modules prefabricated in a factory at the Brooklyn Navy Yard by Capsys Corp., Monadnock’s sister company that specializes in modular housing. Designed for singles and couples and expected to be available for rent in 2015, the apartments at My Micro NY will feature nearly 10-foot ceilings, 8-foot windows and built-in storage spaces that will make the units appear larger. According to an official statement, 40 percent of the super-tiny units will be marketed as affordable. Project plans also include nearly 700 square feet of retail space at the ground floor of the building.

 

Renderings of My Micro NY credits to nARCHITECTS

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