The facility at 400 East 30th Street for people with mental illness was so well known that being “sent to Bellevue” became part of the lexicon.
But the building, which opened in 1931 as Bellevue Hospital’s psychiatric ward, has for ages been a city-run shelter and intake center for homeless men.
Now it will be turned into something else, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Thursday, citing its “severe state of disrepair.” The shelter will close by the end of April.
Therein lies a real estate opportunity. The Department of Homeless Services and other agencies are working on a long-term redevelopment plan, the mayor’s press release said.
So, what should the city do with 400 East 30th Street? It’s between First Avenue and the FDR Drive, which could allow for nice views of the East River. Down the block is the Alexandria Center for Life Sciences.
“It would be a great residential site,” said Wilson Parry of Property Scout. “There is a definite possibility for upzoning here.”
As-of-right, with enough affordable units (which are necessary anyway to get the 485x tax break), a developer could build 650,000 square feet, including 542,000 market-rate, Parry calculated. The height could be 255 feet with a chance for a 25 percent bump to 319 feet, topping the 276-foot-tall building to the south.
But upzone to R-10 and now we’re talking 960,000 square feet, with 800,000 market-rate. And while we’re at it, how about R-12? That would allow for 1.44 million square feet. Does Mamdani want to solve the housing shortage or not?
Based on previous city plans for the Bellevue shelter, some skepticism might be in order.
Superstructures Engineers & Architects did an assessment of it in 2019 at the request of the city. “Today, a concept is on the table to remake the building into ‘a shining example of what a homeless shelter could and should be’ and we’re proud to have contributed to its first step toward rehabilitation,” the firm wrote.
That obviously never came to fruition.
The next year, The City’s Greg Smith reported, “A review of city, state and court records reveals an aging structure plagued by serious fire safety violations, collapsing ceilings and elevators that frequently break down.”
In his first term, Michael Bloomberg said he would replace the shelter with three smaller centers. Later, the city’s Economic Development Corporation solicited proposals to make it a luxury hotel.
I just visited Polymarket to check the odds that Mamdani will revive the luxury hotel idea. Nothing’s been posted yet, but the chances are better that Jesus will return this year. (Which you can bet on, by the way.)
Bloomberg ultimately kept the shelter open, probably because the homeless population kept rising. During the second half of his 12-year tenure it grew from about 31,000 to 51,000. On Tuesday, the shelter census — which doesn’t include several thousand people living outside — was 85,684. That R-12 zoning is looking more attractive by the minute.
What we’re thinking about: Upstate Appellate Division judges just unanimously upheld a decision striking down the state’s income-discrimination law for rental vouchers, on the basis that it requires landlords to give up their Fourth Amendment rights (because they must consent to searches of their property as part of the voucher approval process).
But the city’s source-of-income law, passed in 2008, was not part of the lawsuit. Does that mean the ruling will have no immediate impact on New York City voucher applicants and landlords? Send your thoughts to eengquist@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Remember when advocates for commercial rent control were warning that chain stores would take over New York City? Another reminder of how wrong they were was just reported by the New York Post: The last Hooters in the city shut down last week. The Post’s headline — “Thanks for the mammaries” — described the news as “heartbreaking.” Long Island’s only Hooters closed for good just days before, Newsday reported.
Elsewhere…
A tight housing market in the northern suburbs has nearly all homes selling for the asking price.
Active listings for Westchester County homes are down 29 percent from a year ago, reducing inventory to just 1.3 months (from 1.9), according to the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors.
The numbers are similar in Putnam County, with listings down 25 percent and inventory down to 15 months from 2.2 months a year earlier. Listings in Rockland and Orange counties were down 9 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
But just south of Westchester, in the Bronx, it’s a buyer’s market with 7.4 months of inventory and listings only down 5 percent.
Closing time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Thursday was $14.7 million for a co-op unit at The San Remo, 145 Central Park West. Cathy Franklin and Alexis Bodenheimer of Corcoran had the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $135.2 million for a 408,800-square-foot, 403-unit apartment building at 140 Park Hill Avenue in Staten Island. Delshah Capital sold it to the Arker Companies.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $35.5 million for a 4,878-square-foot, sponsor-sale condominium unit at 50 West 66th Street in Lincoln Square. Extell Marketing Group has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building project was filed by Sam Wieder on behalf of Manhattan Management Realty. The South Harlem sites covered by his seven permits are 77-79 East 124th Street, 70-80 East 125th Street and 1800-1808 Park Avenue. Total square footage is 627,594 and each of the buildings has 99 units.
— Matthew Elo
