NYC Council approves 1,000-unit One45 Harlem development

A residential development will finally rise on the corner of West 145th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem after years of delays and debates. The New York City Council on Monday approved the One45 for Harlem plan, which includes three new buildings and 1,000 units of housing, 338 of which will be affordable. The previous proposal at the site failed to materialize after the former council member refused to accept the development unless at least 57 percent of the units were affordable to families earning 30 percent of the area median income; the developer said that was not economically feasible, withdrew the plan, and turned the property into a truck depot.

Developed by Bruce Teitelbaum and designed by SHoP Architects, One45 includes three separate buildings: a 32-story building with 502 units, a 30-story building with 408 units, and an eight-story building with 90 units of affordable senior housing.

As a result of negotiations between Teitelbaum and City Council Member Yusef Salaam, 126 affordable apartments will be for families earning 60 percent of the AMI, and 122 apartments will be set at 80 percent of the AMI.

As reported by The City, the agreement reached also increased the number of larger units meant for families, with about 30 percent of the 910 units in the two towers featuring two- and three-bedroom apartments. The senior housing will be studios and one-bedrooms.

Teitelbaum also pledged funding for community benefits, including renovations of the Brigadier General Charles Young Playground, a new technology center, and 30,000 square feet of commercial, retail, and community facilities, with 20 percent set aside for Harlem businesses. The development will also have a 20 percent minimum for local hiring.

“After years of very real struggle and hard, yet honest conversations, One45 presents a housing development that has Harlem and our needs at the center,” Salaam said in a statement last month following the project’s approval by the NYC Council’s zoning subcommittee.

“I am proud to say that today, we approved a project that places Harlem and the needs of Harlemites at its core. This project is aimed at stopping the flight of middle-class Harlemites who are leaving the neighborhood and even the city due to lack of affordable housing. One45 will allow generations of Harlemites to remain in the city by providing quality, permanent, affordable housing.”

Plans for the project first surfaced in 2021, with original plans calling for two 361-foot-tall towers and 915 units, 50 percent of which would be affordable. But Council Member Kristin Richardson Jordan argued the project’s affordability did not go far enough and said the development would displace Black residents and contribute to the neighborhood’s rapid gentrification.

Teitelbaum pulled the application and opened a truck depot at the site instead, angering residents and local officials. After Council Member Richardson Jordan did not run for reelection and was replaced in the council by Salaam, the project was revived in 2023.

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