Castellan plans 60 units in West Harlem, with cantilever over Amtrak rails

Castellan Real Estate Partners through the entity Crosscap Holdings, LLC, submitted a zoning change application needed to build a 60-unit residential building at 701 West 135th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, that would include two floors that cantilever over Amtrak rail tracks.

Castellan is requesting a zoning map and zoning text amendment to facilitate construction of the eight-story building that would include 12 affordable units, as well as ground floor commercial space. FILE

According to the application, “The Proposed Development will have a maximum height of 71.5 feet (82 feet to top of bulkhead), with the sixth and seventh floors to cantilever over the Amtrak railroad right-of-way. The Project Area has a history of failed conforming use tenancies and open parking. The Project Area is better suited as a gateway to the Special Manhattanville District and as a transitive connection to the R8 Residence District to the east of Riverside Park, the West Harlem Waterfront Park and the C6 Commercial Districts to the south of the Project Area. Such area was rezoned in 2007 in order to, among other things, allow for a wider mix of uses and greater density, including community facility and residential uses and enliven and activate West 125th Street as the gateway to the West Harlem Waterfront Park.

“The Development Site will consist of a zoning lot comprised of only Lot 58, which is described in greater detail above. The Development Site is currently improved with a two-story, approximately 42-foot-tall, approximately 19,000-square-foot commercial building… The Development Site has been consistently used for commercial use, most recently as a Use Group 6 eating and drinking establishment, with a history of failed tenancies. Description of the Proposed Development The applicant proposes to raze the existing two-story brick building (and rooftop sign structure) and construct a seven-story, approximately 53,548 square foot mixed-use building (4.46 FAR), with approximately 7,415 square feet of Use Group 6 retail, 689 square feet of Use Group 3 and/or 4 community facility space and 45,444 square feet of residential floor area, with 60 dwelling units, of which, approximately twelve (12) will be constructed pursuant to the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Program.”

Castellan bought the property for $1.1 million on October 5, 2016.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Harlem, The bulk, or 44 percent of the 79.7 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 31 percent of the space. In sales, Harlem has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $752 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 20th highest in Manhattan. For development, Harlem is the 9th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 4.1 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 5 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other elevator buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the 11 commercial properties representing 19,186 square feet of the 72,786 square feet. The identified owner is Castellan Real Estate Partners. On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 1,912 square feet. It is a 1,912 square-foot industrial (F-1) building submitted by James Lauria with plans filed August 4, 2017 and permitted August 20, 2021.

The surrounding

This is the first commercial real estate event of interest identified within the 400-foot radius of 701 West 135 Street in the past 24 months.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.