City seeks zoning changes to construct 556 affordable units at former Greenpoint Hospital campus

The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development is seeking zoning changes to develop two new buildings and facilitate the enlargement of two existing buildings which would provide roughly 553 units of affordable and senior housing. The changes would also allow for three units for superintendents, community facility uses, retail spaces, and the on-site replacement of the 200-bed Kleiman Residence homeless shelter. The development site is located at Cooper Park Commons, formerly Greenpoint Hospital campus site, in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The project has been in the works for years, facing several hurdles such as lawsuits and scandals with previous developers. In 2018, Hudson Companies Inc., Project Renewal, and St. Nicks Alliance were selected as the new development team for the project by the city, allowing plans to move forward again.

The project area is bound by Jackson Street and Maspeth Avenue to the north and south and
Debevoise and Kingsland Avenues to the east and west. The development site is on the city block 2885, encompassing lots 1, 20, 23, 28, and 32 and spans 182,487-square-feet.

The plans were disclosed in an application seeking a zoning map amendment from R6 to R7-2 & R72/C2-4 overlay, a zoning text amendment to map mandatory inclusionary housing (MIH), a special permit for “large scale general development” (LSGD), disposition of city owned property and UDAAP designation and approval to facilitate the development.

Per the plans, “building 1” in the proposed project is the redevelopment of the Greenpoint Nurses’ Residence. The building will be converted to a non-profit institution with 200 sleeping accommodations.

The second building will be a 354,023-square-foot building with residential, commercial, and community space. The 343,125-square-feet of residential space will have 310 affordable housing units and one unit for a superintendent, in a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units.

Magnusson Architecture and Planning’s website has renderings for the second building, pictured below.

The third building involves the enlargement of the Barbara Kleiman Residence from 63,206-square-feet to approximately 107,358-square-feet. When completed, the building will have 106 affordable housing studio and one-bedroom units for seniors, plus one two-bedroom unit for a superintendent.

The final building will be a 156,561-square-foot building with 151,243-square-feet of residential space containing 137 affordable housing units, plus one unit for a superintendent.