Resi development rises by 23 percent in 2021, led by Gowanus

The number of new development units filed in 2021 rose by 23 percent over 2020, with Gowanus, Brooklyn, accounting for nearly half that increase. The neighborhood saw the most filings of any neighborhood in the city, with most of that compressed into the last quarter of the year.

PincusCo is taking a look back at residential new building plans filed in 2021 to get an understanding of which boroughs and neighborhoods were the most active for new development last year.

PincusCo looked at all residential (R-2) new building plans filed with the NYC Department of Buildings last year. The analysis did not include plans for buildings with less than four residential units.

In total, there were 563 plans filed for the construction of 37,791 new dwelling units in the city. For context, in 2020 there were 601 plans filed for the construction of 29,022 dwelling units. In 2019 there were 748 plans filed for the construction of 35,132 dwelling units.

The most active borough for residential development last year was Brooklyn, where plans were filed for the construction of 15,702 dwelling units. Manhattan had the second most residential units planned, with 8,145. In 2020 Brooklyn was also most active borough for residential development, with plans filed for over 9,600 dwelling units. Interestingly, Manhattan only had plans filed for just over 3,200 dwelling units.

Gowanus was by far the most active neighborhood for new development, as plans were filed for the construction of 4,479 dwelling units after a massive rezoning plan was passed. The Lower East Side of Manhattan was the second most active neighborhood, where plans were filed for the construction of 2,833 dwelling units.

Below are the five largest plans, by dwelling unit count, of 2021.

CIM Group, on September 7, filed a permit application for construction of a 1,313-unit, 1,274,276-square-foot building with a shared base and two towers at 261 South Street, on the Two Bridges waterfront of the Lower East Side.

Starrett Development, on July 28, filed a permit application for construction of a 1,021-unit, 848,729-square-foot building at 259 Clinton Street in the Two Bridges area of the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Lloyd Goldman’s BLDG Management, on June 15, filed a permit application for construction of an 818-unit, 650,090-square-foot mixed-use building at 42-02 Orchard Street in Long Island City, Queens.

Dynamic Star, a Connecticut-based development firm led by Gary Segal, on November 8, filed a permit application for construction of a 602-unit, 582,122-square-foot mixed-use building at 320 West Fordham Road in University Heights, Bronx.

Vornado Realty Trust, on October 19, filed a permit application for construction of a 573-unit, 540,790-square-foot mixed-use building at 61-10 Junction Boulevard in Rego Park, Queens.